History Repeats Itself
by sarcasmcocktail
Summary: Dean's divorce is finally over so he and Rory can finally be together. That would be true if there were no other guys involved. (becomes Trory). Please R and R COMPLETE
1. Dean's Divorce

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or anything relating to that. This is purely my own thoughts on how I want the show to go – A/N I'm sorry for any out of character actions  
  
Chapter 1  
  
While Rory and Dean's "special night" is kept just between them and Lorelai; Dean's marriage with Lindsay continues to fall apart. She watches every move that Dean makes and won't allow him to be friends with anyone other than her friends. One day he finally can't take it anymore and just explodes.  
"Lindsay! I can't take this anymore, I don't know what happened to what we had, but it's over. I've been thinking about looking into and lawyer and I think it's time that I do...this isn't a marriage!"  
"This is about Rory isn't it?"  
"Whether this is about Rory or not doesn't matter, leave her out of this. The problems in our marriage are because of you and me...no one else!"  
"Dean, honey, stop yelling. We can get through this."  
"There is no more getting through this – I'm out of here."  
Dean races out the door, but isn't sure where to go. His heart tells him to go straight to Rory, but his head warns him to stay away from Lorelai who's still angry about him cheating on Lindsay. He decides to calm himself down by getting coffee at Luke's, if he can't be with Rory, he might as well be like her. Dean should've expected that when he walked through the door, he'd see Rory and Lorelai there drinking coffee and harassing Luke. Jess was hanging around too – just staring at Rory from a distance.  
Dean casually walked over and sat down at the counter asking for a coffee when Luke finally returned to work. It didn't even faze Dean to see Luke give Lorelai a kiss before walking back although he didn't know about them dating.  
"Why the long face?"  
"Marriage."  
"Say no more. What can I get for you?"  
"Coffee and ..." Dean's eyes move towards Rory.  
"The coffee I can get you, the girl's another story. Dean, did anyone ever tell you about your bachelor party?"  
"I got drunk."  
"Do you know what you said?" Luke asked pouring the coffee.  
"No..."  
"You told me that you loved Rory, not Lindsay."  
Those words stuck in Dean's head the rest of the day. He knew that drunken words often contained more truth than anything said sober. More than anything, Dean wanted to get the divorce over with so that he could be with Rory. Luke offered his room to Dean because he was spending the night at the Dragonfly with Lorelai and Dean gladly accepted, not realizing he'd be spending the night in a small apartment with Jess.  
"So, the wife kick you out?"  
"Lay off, Mariano."  
"So it's Rory."  
"What...?"  
"You don't have the only heart she's broken."  
Dean had never seen a sensitive side to Jess, then again he never wanted to. Jess stole his girlfriend that night at the dance, though he'd had her heart already. Dean and Jess spent the night talking about Rory and Jess uncharacteristically helped Dean to find a divorce lawyer. Dean just left out the details that he and Rory had slept together and as soon as the divorce was over they'd be back together. It was very obvious that Jess was still very much in love with Rory, but both knew that he blew it the day that he left for California.  
The next morning they walked downstairs to find Luke already working and the Gilmores at their usual table drinking what was most likely their third cups of coffee for the morning. Dean and Jess looked at each other and almost laughed because of the amount they talked about Rory. It was shocking to see the two of them getting along...almost as friends. Jess got to work next to his uncle and Dean went over to Rory and Lorelai.  
"I'm calling a lawyer today."  
"Good, you get divorced before coming near my daughter again."  
"Lorelai, I'm sorry...but the marriage has been over."  
"I don't care – that's still adultery, now get lost."  
Rory just looked at Dean with a look of longing as he walked out the door of Luke's. Then her and Lorelai asked each other what he was doing walking out of the apartment that early ... with Jess.  
"Luke, honey, can you come here for a minute?"  
"What do you want? Can't you see we're busy?"  
"Why was Dean in your apartment?"  
"Fight with the wife, I sympathized with him over the divorce and let him stay there since I knew I wouldn't."  
The girls were still confused, but Luke walked away. It was the first time Dean and Jess had ever been seen getting along and Rory knew it had to do with her.  
The summer was a very long one. Rory was preparing for her second year at Yale while helping Dean and his lawyer finish out the divorce. Paris was calling every other day about something different, whether it was what to do about the dorm room or how to avoid Asher and warn his new "fling." Professor Asher Fleming had broken Paris's heart once again turning her into an absolute nervous wreck. Rory dealt as much as she could with Paris and still helped Dean. The hardest part of all was for Rory to patch up her relationship with her mother which just kept falling because of Dean. Lorelai wasn't sure whether she was disappointed or just afraid. She wanted Rory's first time to be special, but special meant with her own boyfriend – or even husband, not a married man.  
The end of the summer approached and it seemed that it was ending metaphorically as well as literally. Dean arrived at the Gilmore household two days before Rory was leaving for Yale with his official divorce paper. It had taken two months...two very hellish months, but the divorce was over and Dean and Rory could finally be together. Lorelai knew that she had no choice but to give her blessing or she'd lose her daughter, just as her mother lost her. Dean and Rory celebrated with a very passionate kiss that sent chills throughout both of their bodies. Lorelai gave them a look that said "Dean being single does not mean jump his bones now."  
Since Lorelai knew she couldn't do anything to keep them apart, she allowed their relationship to blossom for the next two days. Much to Lorelai's surprise...and dismay, Emily showed up on moving day to help Rory get to Yale. Both Luke and Dean had spent the night and were still in bed when Emily arrived. Lorelai snuck into Rory's room and whispered "Grandma's here" causing Rory to start panicking and attempting to hide Dean. Instead she left her room with Dean in it and shut the door to greet her grandmother.  
"Are you ready to start your sophomore year?"  
"Yep, I'm packed and mom and I were getting ready to leave."  
"In your pajamas?"  
"Oh yea, mom, it's the new fad."  
"I don't care for your humor, Lorelai, now both of you get dressed then I'm taking you for breakfast on the way to Yale."  
Lorelai went upstairs to get dressed and told Luke not to leave until she was out of the house, gave him a kiss, and left. Rory on the other hand, had a hard time saying goodbye and giving Dean a simple kiss. She asked him to drive to Yale that night because Paris wasn't arriving until the next morning.  
Lorelai, Rory, and Emily packed Rory and Emily's cars and left for New Haven. Rory was living in the same room as last year with the same roommates. Tanna had already been moving her stuff in and greeted Rory with a big hug. Emily then continued to list people she had to contact to get special treatment for Rory. Emily finally heads back to the small house she rented for her and Richard's separation leaving Lorelai and Rory to themselves.  
"Have fun this year. Come home to see me though, not just Dean."  
"I will mom, don't worry. I love you."  
"I love you too. I have to get back to the Inn before Sookie lights it on fire."  
Lorelai gives her daughter a hug and kiss and heads back to Stars Hollow. Minutes later Dean arrives and Rory doesn't even let him in the room before kissing him. The two start making out in the hall when she hears a familiar voice.  
"Well if it isn't Mary and bagboy." 


	2. Romeo Returns

Rory knew that voice, but didn't want to admit it was really him. Dean pulled away, he too recognized the voice of the man he knew loved his girlfriend back in high school.  
"Well if it isn't the quintessential small town couple."  
"What are you doing here?" Rory asked.  
"What does it look like, Mary. I wasn't happy at Princeton – so I transferred here, to Yale. What happened to your dream of Harvard?"  
Tristan DuGrey never lost that seductive smile he'd used to charm every girl at Chilton. Every girl at Chilton...except the one that he wanted, Rory. It had never crossed Rory's mind through the days when he'd harass her and call her "Mary" that he might be in love with her, but everyone around them knew. She knew Tristan liked someone back when he left, but she thought it was his ex, Summer. Dean, on the other hand, could tell at the Chilton dance that Tristan had a crush on Rory. He didn't feel like sticking around while Tristan made eyes at Rory and made smartass comments.  
"Let's go inside, Rory"  
"You better follow your bagboy, Mary."  
"Go to hell, Tristan," Rory responded.  
"I've been there – I went to military school...remember?"  
Since Tristan left for military school, no one had the same effect on Rory as he had. There wasn't a single guy who aggravated her to the point of almost violence. Tristan just had this way of getting to her and anyone around her. She remembered back when they almost became friends, then he used that kiss against her. Rory never told anyone about that kiss – she wondered if Tristan did. What would happen to her if Dean found out.  
"Just remember one thing Juliet...your Romeo's back."  
It was just a play – they were acting and in the end Paris was Romeo, not Tristan. When they got back into the dorm room, Rory's head wasn't very into Dean who continued to kiss her. She fell onto the bed with him on top of her and they continued to explore each other's mouths with their tongues. Rory briefly opened her eyes and saw Tristan's face instead of Dean's. Dean was too into his own world to notice Rory not being very into it and started to explore her body with his hand. When his hand approached her thighs, she started to push him away.  
"Rory, what's wrong."  
"I'm just not into this right now. I'm sorry."  
Dean knew that it had to do with Tristan and told Rory that instead of spending the night, he was going to head home. As soon as Dean walked out of Rory's suite, he spotted Tristan standing around talking to another guy.  
"What's the matter, bagboy, did your precious little Mary kick you out?"  
Dean didn't bother responding; he just got in his car and sped back to Stars Hollow. While Lindsay was possessive and overbearing, there was never another guy to worry about. Rory just seemed to attract every guy that Dean didn't like...first Tristan, then Jess, now Tristan again. He didn't know what to do to be able to keep Rory this time, when he arrived back in Stars Hollow; he went straight to Luke's.  
Dean wanted to talk to Jess; he wanted to ask questions on winning Rory's heart. Jess told him that he didn't know what he did and that he was stupid to have given it up so easily. Dean could tell Jess regretted not telling Rory that he loved her before leaving for California and that he shouldn't have left in the first place. The two compared notes on how to get Rory's heart, continuing to bond over their love for her which once made them hate each other.  
Meanwhile Rory was lying in her bed wondering why she stopped Dean. They'd already had sex, a few times, and she couldn't deny loving it. Something in the back of her mind wasn't letting her enjoy being with Dean. Throughout their days at Chilton, Tristan always succeeded to get on her nerves. He ruined her friendship with Paris multiple times and Rory knew that she should never let him get to her again. Missing Dean and wishing he was by her side, Rory cried herself to sleep.  
The next morning, Rory was awakened by banging and yelling – it was Paris arriving for the new semester. She brought everything that she could possibly ever need and was scaring Tanna as she'd done many times before.  
"Good morning, Paris," Rory said groggily.  
"Rory, did you see who transferred to Yale?"  
"If you mean Mr. Can't Get Over Himself, yes I did."  
"I can't believe it, Tristan DuGrey, I had such the crush on him before he started hanging out with Duncan and Bowman."  
"He's also the reason you hated me for a while."  
"He is, isn't he?"  
Paris had to mention Tristan once again causing for Rory to go into a daze. Rory got dressed and asked Paris if she wanted coffee because she was in desperate need for her first cup of the day. When Paris responded that she didn't, Rory left hoping not to see Tristan. Of course her hopes were shattered when he decided to join her on her way.  
"What happened to your lover boy?"  
"Go away, Tristan."  
"I don't know about you, but I'm getting the feeling that you aren't too happy to see me."  
"And why would I be Tristan."  
"Have you had any more kisses that made you cry because you realized that you were dating the wrong person?" 


	3. Haunting History

Once again Rory found herself in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking about Tristan DuGrey. She also thought about Dean and how much she loved him and how she left him once before for another guy. Jess hurt her in a way that she'd never been hurt before – he just walked away and thought that he could come back and everything would be fine. She gave up a great relationship with Dean for Jess, the bad boy. But that kiss the first time he came back to Stars Hollow – that kiss just made everything right between them. Tristan had kissed her once before and that kiss led to her eventually getting back with Dean. She'd never thought about it afterwards and tried to make him leave her alone about it up until he left for military school.  
  
Tristan sat in his dorm also in a complete daze. His roommate, Marty, wondered what was on his mind.  
"Penny for your thoughts?"  
"It's nothing, Marty, just some thoughts from high school."  
"Ah, so it's a girl – what's her name?"  
"You wouldn't know her."  
"Try me."  
"Rory."  
"Rory Gilmore? Who lives downstairs? I know her, but I think she knows me a little better."  
Tristan questioned that and Marty told him the story about the beginning of freshman year and ending up outside Rory's room...naked. Marty asked Tristan how he knew Rory and why she was on Tristan's mind. He explained that Rory was the only girl in Chilton that he couldn't have and that just made him want her more. She had a natural beauty and a wit that didn't compare to the rest of the girls at that school. Rory was actually there because she wanted to learn, not because she was the daughter of a wealthy family. Tristan just left out the part about the kiss that had been on his mind for the past three years. No one knew how he felt about Rory even though he wanted to tell her so many times, especially during Romeo and Juliet. She told him not to hang out with Duncan and Bowman, but he didn't listen; he landed himself in North Carolina...far away from her. Tristan swore that he would get the girl this time...bagboy wouldn't win again.  
  
The phone in Rory and Paris's room rang and since Rory was in a world of her own, Paris answered.  
"Sure, hold on one second...Rory, it's your boyfriend."  
"I don't have one, he broke up with me."  
Rory took the phone and attempted to apologize to Dean. He wouldn't listen, Rory could tell that Jess was right next to him. Dean continued to explain how he knew that she couldn't help the sparks between her and Jess, even Jess didn't know what happened...but the thing with Tristan's been going on even longer.  
"This guy liked you in high school and he still has a thing for you. Did you see how he looked at your Rory?"  
"Dean, you know I hated him in high school, I chose you...remember?"  
"Well you didn't choose me over Jess."  
"Tristan isn't Jess!"  
"Oh, so you want Jess back? Is that what you're saying."  
"That's ridiculous. Dean, I love you."  
"Tell it to the judge."  
With that Dean hung up the phone and Rory collapsed on her bed in tears. Paris tried to cheer her up, but it didn't work. Paris then decided to go for a walk and in the hall she saw none other than Tristan DuGrey.  
"So that's what this is all about."  
"Nice to see you too, Gellar."  
"You're the reason that Rory and Dean just broke up again."  
"They did?"  
Tristan couldn't hide his trademark smirk and Paris figured out exactly what was going on. She had heard back in Chilton that Tristan was lusting over Rory, but never wanted to believe it. Her own crush on Tristan was starting to resurface though she would never let it show. Tristan made cracks about Paris Gellar finally having emotions; it was something completely unheard of. She'd changed a lot since he'd last seen her...though he'd seen her grandparents many times with her own.  
Thoughts started to go through Tristan's mind about how he could use Paris to get to Rory. It was mean, it was horrible, but it would work.  
"Paris, do you remember that date we went on not long before I left for military school?"  
"You mean the one where you told me that we were more 'friend type' than 'dating type'?"  
"Yes, that one. Why don't we try it again...maybe we're more 'dating type' now that you have a heart."  
"You never change, do you DuGrey?"  
"No, and neither do you. You can't deny you still have something for me."  
They decided to go out and Tristan would pick Paris up the next night at seven for dinner and a movie. Paris hid how excited she was about it and ran back to her room, while Tristan just continued to plot.  
  
Back in Stars Hollow, Dean and Jess were having a long discussion about Rory. Jess was telling Dean about how it was his intellect that won her over, but Dean didn't think Tristan had that. Neither could figure out what her attraction to him was, though they continued to contemplate it. Maybe she was just a sucker for that smirk of his...a thought that brought laughter in the room. Luke walked in wondering what was funny and Jess explained that Rory found yet another guy. Luke failed to see the humor so he talked to Lorelai about it. She figured that they were trying to hide the pain...then she wondered about her daughter's new beau. Lorelai then decided that it was time to make a phone call.  
"Hello?"  
"Hello my lovely daughter."  
"Mom, to what do I owe this pleasure?"  
"I hear there was trouble in paradise with you and Dean...something about a new guy?"  
"There is no new guy."  
"So an old one?"  
"There is no guy. Tristan transferred to Yale and now Dean's jealous..."  
"Chilton Tristan?"  
"Yes, that Tristan."  
Rory didn't have to say another word, Lorelai knew everything. She remembered Tristan from the Chilton days and knew he would stop at nothing to make Rory his own. He was the reason that Rory and Dean fell asleep at Miss Patty's that night, he was the reason Paris was Romeo in the play. Lorelai told Rory there was nothing to worry about and that maybe Dean would get over it. In the back of her mind, Lorelai knew that Dean wouldn't because Tristan wasn't going anywhere this time. She didn't think Rory would fall into his spell, Tristan might be gorgeous, but Rory's a smart girl. 


	4. Lingering Lust

The next night was like any other Saturday night to Rory. She sat with a cup of coffee and her most recent book in the common room of the suite with plans to just sit and read all night. Paris came out of the room all dolled up in a clingy dress and wearing just the right amount of make up.  
"So, how do I look?"  
"You look great, what are you doing tonight?"  
"I have a date."  
"With...?"  
Before Paris had a chance to answer, there was a knock at the door. Paris opened it and Tristan invited himself inside. Rory took one look at him and forced herself to focus completely on the book, but her concentration was elsewhere. Why was Paris going out with Tristan? Didn't Paris get over that crush on Tristan when he almost screwed them over for that Shakespeare grade? Rory thought back to the time when she almost forced Tristan to take Paris out and the negative results. Paris hating her was definitely not wanted while they were living in the same dorm. It had never crossed her mind that he was doing this to get to her...if it had, she would have to admit defeat.  
  
Tristan took Paris to a fancy restaurant and made the usual charming, flattering comments. He thought to himself that he should've said more than how good Paris looked in front of Rory, but he didn't want to make his motives too obvious. Throughout the night, Tristan was completely bored but hid that from Paris who was incessantly rambling. At the end of the night, he was very glad to take her back to her dorm.  
"I guess you were right last time, we are more the 'friends type'."  
"I'm glad that you said it, not me. Paris, you're a great person and we've known each other a long time. But we are only friends."  
Paris was more okay with it than she thought she'd be. It didn't cross her mind that Tristan had it bad for her roommate and best friend. Paris invited Tristan in, but left him in the common room while she went to change into something more comfortable. Rory was still sitting there engulfed in a book, or so it looked.  
"Wow Mary, still reading that same book."  
The truth was she was thinking about Tristan more than she was reading. The book had an explicit sex scene and Rory couldn't deny that she'd imagined herself as the leading lady with Tristan as the man. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss him the way she'd kissed Dean...or even just to touch him.  
"Well unlike the books you read, there are no pictures of naked women?"  
"You don't need that – you're too busy picturing me naked."  
"In your dreams."  
Little did innocent little Rory know. Tristan had many dreams about the two of them finally being together. He knew that he had to make it a reality. He sat down next to her on the couch and ripped the book out of her hands. His hand had gently brushed up against hers and it sent a jolt of electricity through her body. She attempted to grab the book back but instead found herself nearing closer to Tristan who was getting exactly what he wanted.  
Paris came out of the bedroom to see the expression on Tristan's face. She realized that he still wanted Rory, just as he had four years ago. Since she couldn't have him to herself, she decided to help Tristan without telling him.  
"I'm pretty tired, so I'm gonna turn in. Rory, could you try not to be too loud when you go to bed."  
"No problem, Paris. I'll probably be in pretty soon."  
Tristan thought otherwise. He knew that he could get his Mary to at least let him touch her in some way by the end of that night. She finally gave up on the book and let him have it so as not to get close to him. He put his arm around her and her body shook in a way that she couldn't lie about it.  
"I like the effect I have on you, Mary."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"I touched you and your body shook. You can't say that I didn't cause that."  
"I'm cold, I got a chill. Get over yourself."  
The truth was, Rory wanted Tristan to touch her more. Neither Dean nor Jess had made her feel the way that Tristan did. He looked her in the eye and saw something he'd never noticed before...maybe she could have some of the feelings he'd been hiding for all this time.  
"Well, Mary, it's been nice, but I must be going now."  
"I thought this time would never come."  
Tristan stood up, but wasn't going anywhere. Rory questioned him on why he wasn't leaving and he responded that he wouldn't leave without a hug. After a little arguing and exchanges of sarcasm, Rory gave in and gave Tristan a hug. When she went to pull away, he looked her right in the eye and gave her a gentle kiss. She didn't move from the kiss so he took the opportunity to try again this time attempting to use his tongue. He had gone a little too far and Rory just walked into her room without reaction leaving Tristan wanting more. 


	5. Reconciled Romance

When Tristan got back to his dorm, Marty was typing something on his laptop. Tristan ignored anyone else in the room; he was in his own personal bliss. He finally got another chance at kissing his Mary...he did something that he'd waited four years to do again. His mind kept flashing back to Madeline's party and the piano and the look in her eyes after her first break up with Dean. What did bagboy have that he didn't? Tristan was rich, gorgeous, smart, and he truly loved Rory in a way he didn't think was possible. Every thought of Rory just made Tristan need a cold shower.  
  
Rory put down her book and went into the bedroom. She wasn't sure what to think...her mind was on the break up with Dean. The kiss. Rory didn't enjoy the kiss the way Tristan did, it just brought confusion. Maybe everyone was right and Tristan did have feelings for her, but did Rory feel the same? She didn't think that she did. When Tristan kissed her, it felt nothing like those first few kisses with Jess or the kiss when she gave Dean her virginity. Jess and Dean were getting close and Rory could tell – it caused confusion over which one she really loved. But it didn't matter; at this point they both hated her.  
First thing Sunday morning Rory did the only thing that would make her feel better...call her mother.  
"Mom, Dean hates me."  
"Because of Tristan."  
"Tristan kissed me last night. I miss Dean, I want him back."  
"Wait...repeat that."  
"I want Dean back?"  
"Before that"  
"I miss him?"  
"Before that."  
"Tristan kissed me?"  
"I thought he had a date with Paris."  
"He did, then she went to bed and before he left, he kissed me."  
Lorelai convinced Rory that she'd be alright and that they could both talk to Dean. Rory wasn't sure it would work, Dean sounded like he never wanted to see her again.  
  
Lorelai knew that she had to do something for her daughter and figured she'd think about it after having her forth cup of coffee.  
"Luke. Please."  
"Lorelai, how many have you had today?"  
"One?"  
"How many?"  
"Three, but Luke, I've had a hard day."  
"Fine, but this is your only one."  
"I love you."  
"I love you too."  
The sensitive Luke was still new to Lorelai, but she liked it. She was beginning to love how their morning arguments ended in a kiss. Lorelai told Luke about her phone call from Rory and he told her that he hadn't seen Jess and Dean apart in the past three days. As if on cue, the two walked downstairs into the Diner.  
"Good morning, Lorelai."  
"Good morning, Dean. Jess. Dean, do you think we could talk for a minute."  
Dean reluctantly agreed and went over to the corner table with Lorelai. She told him how upset Rory was and how much she really loved him. Dean wasn't sure how to react.  
"Lorelai, that guy. He's going to do anything to get her."  
"But she doesn't want him, she wants you."  
"She left me once before."  
"And you're afraid of being hurt again, I understand. Dean, just give her a chance."  
"I'll think about it."  
With that Dean walked away...back to Jess who wanted to know exactly what the conversation was about. Dean told him how Lorelai said that Rory wanted him back, but he didn't want to be hurt again. Jess couldn't help but to be jealous. He blew it with Rory, he basically put her right back in Dean's arms and now he was going to be helping Dean get her back. Jess only wanted what would make Rory happiest, that's what you do when you love someone.  
After his talk with Jess, Dean walked out of Luke's and straight to his car. The drive to New Haven seemed to take forever and Dean didn't know exactly what he was going to do when he got there. Finally arriving at Yale, he stood outside the door of Rory's suite contemplating knocking or just turning around.  
"Looks like bagboy's back for his little Mary."  
"Get lost, rich boy."  
"Guess what bagboy, your girl got a little feisty last night."  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
"Why don't you ask her."  
Rory heard noise in the hall so she opened the door to find Dean giving Tristan a death glare.  
"Dean! What's going on out here?"  
"Don't worry, Mary, I was just telling your bagboy here about you and me last night."  
"Rory, what's this guy talking about?"  
"It was nothing. Tristan's nothing."  
She didn't know how much her words stung, Tristan just pretended to rub it off and walk away.  
"Dean, what are you doing here? I thought you hated me."  
"I love you."  
"I love you too. I've always loved you."  
Dean walked into the room and Rory kissed him expecting the sparks she'd gotten just a few weeks earlier. But that feeling was gone. She loved Dean, she wanted nothing but to be with him again...or so she thought. Rory started to remember how she felt when Tristan touched her so gently, the sparks, but then when they kissed...there was nothing. What was going on with her body? Rory didn't know what she wanted.  
She got Dean back and she thought that would make her happy – but did it? A few hours later he went back to Stars Hollow, satisfied because when he was with Rory she seemed truly happy again. Tristan was nothing to worry about the first time he was with Rory and nothing to worry about now. Dean had his girlfriend back, his one true love and no one could burst his bubble.  
  
Rory loved Dean, she knew she did. He was her first boyfriend, her first kiss, her first love, her first...everything. Why was it that Tristan got her so tense? Dean was the only one who she loved and wanted to be with. Rory spent all night trying to convince herself.  
The next morning she went to her first class...Philosophies on Love. It was a requirement for the journalism major because she had to be able to examine motives in order to investigate anything. Rory was excited to be taking the class; that was until she noticed Tristan sitting two seats away from her. 


	6. Eternal Ending

Rory listened attentively as Professor Calines began his introduction to the class. She could feel Tristan's stare, but refused to look anywhere near him.  
"This class is going to teach you about love. I know you're all thinking that love can't be explained, but this is what researchers have found. Love is something that you feel and you know by those chills, the butterflies, everything else that only comes from being around someone you care about."  
Tristan thought back to the way the kiss with Rory made him feel and continued to listen to the professor.  
"Unrequited love causes people to act in ways that they can't seem to justify. A young male will attempt to rebel as a way to take out his frustrations and at times will do irreversible actions."  
Rory looked over at Tristan who had "military school" written across his face, but she wouldn't believe that she was that unrequited love from high school. In her head, it was Summer; it was always Summer when it came to Tristan.  
"The young male will also act almost hostile towards the object of his affections. He knows that the way to get her attention is to frustrate and aggravate her."  
He was describing Tristan to a t causing a bit of discomfort. After another half hour of lecturing, the class was dismissed. Tristan followed Rory back to the building where they were both dorming.  
"Do me a favor, stop following me."  
"I hate to burst your little bubble, Mary, but we are going to the same place."  
"Whatever, I'll just walk faster."  
As Rory walked faster, so did Tristan.  
"Are you telling me that Calines' lecture said nothing to you? It didn't remind you of anything?"  
"No, should it have?"  
Tristan was hurt by her words so he made a sarcastic comment and walked a different way. Rory began to think even more about what everyone had been telling her. Maybe Tristan did have some kind of feelings for her that she couldn't deny any longer. He had kissed her, twice now, and she only cried the first time.  
  
Tristan sat in his room reviewing the notes he took during that lecture. He was everything that Calines described...he was in love with Rory Gilmore, but she was with her little bagboy. Tristan knew that he could get her to feel something that Dean never could; all he needed was a way to get her into his arms.  
  
Rory thought about her time with Dean the night before and wondered why she didn't feel the sparks. She wanted to feel those chills and butterflies that Professor Calines was talking about. Then her mind drifted to Tristan's comments earlier and she remembered the chills she got when his hand rubbed up against hers. Rory's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Much to her surprise, it was Dean just there to see how her first day of classes went. He came in and they talked about life in Stars Hollow and about Lindsay after the divorce. Talking about Lindsay wasn't what Dean drove to Yale for so he leaned in and kissed Rory. She tried to force herself to feel tingly, but it wasn't working. Just then Paris walked in the room.  
"Sorry. I'm not here."  
Rory was kind of glad that Paris walked in because she couldn't pretend anymore. She and Dean really were over, as much as she didn't want to admit it.  
"Dean, remember that night when you and me..."  
"Made love?"  
"Yes. Do you remember the sparks between us? How amazing every kiss, every move felt?"  
"I finally felt alive again, like I wasn't completely tied down."  
"I guess what I'm trying to say is...the sparks...they're...gone."  
"What do you mean?"  
"I don't feel anything when you kiss me. Sure, I enjoy the kissing...a lot and I love you more than anything."  
"But if there are no sparks..."  
"There's no relationship. Dean, I'm sorry and I don't want to lose you."  
"Too late, Rory. You just told me that you don't want this."  
"I love you."  
"Good bye."  
That was it. Dean was gone, for good this time. Rory knew that she hurt him and that there was absolutely no way of him ever coming back. About an hour after Dean left the dorm, the phone rang.  
"Rory, it's for you. It's some guy."  
"Hello?"  
"Hey, it's Jess."  
"Jess...hi."  
"Rory, look, I know things ended pretty badly between us when I left for California."  
"Don't forget the coming back and telling me you love me then wanting me to run away with you after you disappeared again."  
"I do love you, but I know we can only be friends. I want to be friends."  
"Dean and I broke up again. For good this time."  
"So I heard, and Miss Patty overheard so would you like to talk to Lorelai before she finds out otherwise?"  
"Sure."  
Lorelai got on the phone and Rory told her everything. Lorelai knew that a new bad boy had stolen her daughter's affections; it was all a matter of Rory realizing where her feelings really were. Lorelai gave the phone back to Jess and Rory stayed on the phone with him for hours just talking and catching up. She missed the talks that she had with Jess before and during their relationship. He was so brilliant and well read, but too unreliable for Rory. She could never open herself up to how much he hurt her...not again. When Rory realized how late it was, she got off the phone and went to bed.  
Paris started to ask about Dean and Jess...then about Tristan. The girls swore that Tristan DuGrey wouldn't come between them as he had years before. Within minutes of making that promise, they were both fast asleep.  
  
The phone rang in Tristan's room while he was starting to fall asleep. Marty was in the library so he dragged himself out of bed to answer it.  
"Hello?"  
"DuGrey," said a familiar voice on the other end.  
"Carlisle," Tristan responded to his friend Noah Carlisle from military school.  
"What's going on?"  
"You'll never guess who's at Yale."  
"Your Mary, Mary, quite Contrary?"  
"She was supposed to be at Harvard. I was finally getting her off my mind."  
"That's a funny statement, DuGrey. What are you going to do about it?"  
"I have to show her that I've changed, but King of Chilton, Tristan keeps coming back whenever I see her. God, I love her."  
"Well it's up to you."  
Tristan stayed on the phone with his military school buddy for a little while talking about Rory, then all the other girls that Noah had hooked up with at his college. Military school didn't do very much for either of them. Tristan fell asleep that night and had one of the best dreams he'd had in a while...  
Rory was lying in the bed next to him and he was just looking her in the eye and playing with her hair. Every so often he'd kiss her forehead, lips, and neck while she'd utter the words "I love you, Tristan." He woke up in a cold sweat and in desperate need of a cold shower. Wet dreams weren't Tristan DuGrey's style; he had to do something to get his girl. 


	7. Craving Coffee

The next morning Rory woke up to find Paris had already left for her 9:00 class, Rory's first wasn't until 2 so she slept until noon. She got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom then after her shower wanted coffee...she was a Gilmore after all. She straightened up her half of the room then headed out the door to get her coffee. When she opened the door, she was in for an interesting surprise.  
"Coffee, Mary?"  
"I think I can get my own, Tristan."  
"But why when I have perfectly good coffee brought to you by a very attractive male."  
"You think quite highly of yourself."  
"So you don't think so? I'm so very hurt Mary," Tristan responded sarcastically.  
The truth was Rory found him very attractive, but after her forth break up with Dean, she wasn't in the mood for Mr. DuGrey's come-ons.  
"Where's bagboy? I thought he came last night."  
"If you must know, we broke up last night. For good this time."  
"I'm sorry."  
Tristan invited himself in and sat down on the couch motioning for Rory to sit next to him.  
"Ya know, you being here after my break up seems awfully familiar."  
"We could keep it familiar."  
Rory knew what Tristan was implying, but she remembered why she cried after the first kiss. She was confused because she liked it, but still loved Dean. Her love for Dean wasn't going anywhere, especially not because of Tristan. Rory decided to sit down on the couch – she still had another hour and a half before she needed to head to her Investigative Journalism class. Rory asked Tristan about military school, he didn't have very much to say about it. He told her that he deserved the punishment and lived through it, now he was happy to be free.  
Tristan couldn't believe how much he enjoyed just sitting there and talking to her. He then remembered something that Noah had said on the phone the night before. "If you really like this girl, do something about it. Tristan DuGrey isn't one who's shy around the ladies." It was true, girls never made Tristan nervous before...but this one was different. Mary...Rory was the girl that stayed on Tristan's mind from Chilton to military school to Princeton and now Yale. She was supposed to be at Harvard; he was supposed to forget her.  
"We never finished that play before I left Chilton."  
"I think Dean might've killed you if we did," Rory's eyes started to tear when she mentioned Dean's name.  
"I'm sorry for that night at rehearsal...for bringing up our kiss."  
"I never told anyone about that. I thought we agreed that we were upset, that it meant nothing."  
Did this girl know how much she was killing him? Tristan wanted to wipe the tears forming in her eyes, but his own heart felt like it was going to explode. Tristan stared deeply into Rory's blue eyes, which were swollen with tears and completely lost any sense of reason. He leaned in and kissed her like he did that night at Madeline's party. Rory felt her body begin to shake, the sparks that she missed with Dean, the butterflies...they were all there. When Tristan started to lick her lips, asking for entry, she allowed it. He couldn't believe that he was finally getting somewhere with her. All it took was a loss of control on his part. That same loss of control was causing for Tristan's pants to feel a little tighter and him to pull away.  
"I have to go. Good bye...Mary."  
Rory was left completely speechless; she didn't know what just happened. That wasn't like the kiss at Madeline's party or Saturday night after Tristan's date with Paris. It reminded her of the kiss with Jess at Sookie's wedding. When he came back from New York after the first time he ran away. Tristan's kiss made her feel better than she had since the night she gave herself to Dean.  
Paris came into the room to find Rory still sitting on the couch with a stunned look on her face.  
"Rory...what happened?"  
"Tristan...coffee...wow."  
"Okay, all I got out of that was this has to do with Tristan. Did he come here?"  
"He showed up...with coffee."  
"The way to a Gilmore's heart. You and Lorelai have a death wish with all that coffee drinking."  
"Tristan kissed me."  
"Again?"  
"No, I mean he really kissed me. Like Jess used to kiss me. Like Dean kissed me."  
Paris didn't know what to say to her roommate. She was happy for Tristan because it was obvious to everyone how in love he was with Rory Gilmore. But at the same time, Paris couldn't help but to feel jealous. She had a crush on Tristan since grade school and the one time he took her out at Chilton was because Rory asked him to. He would've done anything Rory said...that was Tristan, the ladies' man except when it came to his Mary.  
  
Tristan needed another cold shower...she couldn't keep doing this to him. Rory had to know how he felt; he didn't want her to be another girl he hooked up with. Tristan wanted Rory Gilmore to be his girlfriend...the one and only girl he was with. She would never believe he could change his ways though; Summer was the only girl she'd seen him date. The year before at Princeton, Tristan never had a relationship, he'd go on dates and sleep with girls, but never felt the way he did about Rory.  
After his shower, he called Noah again.  
"I did it."  
"Fucked your Mary?"  
"It's not like that Carlisle."  
"So, you don't want to get in her pants."  
"God, do I; but not right away."  
"I don't know what's happened to you, DuGrey, but I'm not sure I like it too much."  
"I kissed her and I think I'm going to ask her out."  
"Then fuck her?"  
"Shut the fuck up."  
At that Tristan hung up on his military school buddy. He was going to plan out a date that Rory would love...that would make her love him. Tristan called Paris to find out what time Rory would be back from class. She told him that he better not hurt Rory; she'd been through a lot in the past few years. Tristan simply responded, "she's not the one you have to worry about." 


	8. Trusting Tristan

Tristan spotted Rory walking back to her dorm after class and ran over to her.  
"So I was thinking..."  
"The world must be coming to an end. Tristan DuGrey...thinking."  
"C'mon, Rory," Tristan through her off by calling her by her real name. "You and me should go to this nice little French Café then out for some coffee and cheesecake at a little bakery I know around here."  
"You mean...a date?"  
"If you want to be technical...yes."  
"I don't know, Tristan. I'm not like the girls you usually date."  
  
He knew that all too well; most girls would jump at any opportunity to be near him. She was different, even on her first day at Chilton she was immune to his charm. Tristan had often wondered if he only wanted her because she was the one he couldn't have. But he knew there was more to it than that...much more. With a few smiles and a lot of talking, Tristan convinced Rory to let him take her out Saturday night. Rory accepted thinking she had a few days to get out of it. If only he'd said Friday, then she could simply "forget" about dinner with the grandparents until Friday afternoon. Rory wasn't like that though; she wouldn't lie even if it was to Tristan.  
  
Friday night came and Rory was back in Stars Hollow with her mother getting ready for dinner. Lorelai kept mentioning Dean, but Rory knew it was over for good this time. Most of Lorelai's time had been spent with Luke at Luke's so she heard everything that Jess and Dean talked about. Besides Miss Patty telling stories about everyone and everything. Rory couldn't get away from the Stars Hollow drama...she knew that before she even left. She told her mother about her date Saturday night and Lorelai looked confused.  
"Spawn of Satan, Tristan? Blonde kid, very attractive, was Romeo to your Juliet?"  
"That's the one. I don't know, mom, he kissed me again and ... wow."  
"You got the butterflies."  
Lorelai saw the look on her daughter's face and knew that she couldn't talk her out of this date. She just thought how Tristan better take care of her if he knew what was good for him. Lorelai could just bring out her Lorena Bobbitt side. The girls left Stars Hollow and headed for the grandparents in Hartford.  
The dinners had been quiet all summer because of Emily and Richard's separation. Rory would speak to her grandfather all the time because they had a very close relationship.  
"Rory, I spoke to a good friend of mine from my Yale days last night. He told me that his grandson transferred from Princeton to Yale...maybe you know him," Richard stated during dinner.  
"What's his name?"  
"Tristan DuGrey?"  
Rory and Lorelai just looked at each other.  
"I'm guessing you do know him?"  
"Rory has a date with him tomorrow night," Lorelai chipped in.  
"We knew each other at Chilton, though we didn't get along very well."  
"Well Janlan DuGrey has been a good friend of mine for years. If his grandson's anything like him, I'm sure he's very much a gentleman."  
Rory didn't respond to that. The Tristan that she knew wasn't a gentleman...he did kiss her twice in the past week without her wanting him to. The kiss though, it was replaying in Rory's mind ever since it happened. She only wanted to kiss him again to feel the chills and the butterflies. Saturday was going to be a very interesting night.  
The rest of dinner was pretty quiet, Lorelai could tell there was something going through her daughter's head and knew that it had something to do with Tristan. She wasn't sure where the change occurred...when he switched from being the "spawn of Satan" to a dateable guy. Dean was such a good kid, but Jess was a bad boy. Lorelai never liked Rory dating Jess – but it was never her place to say. This guy...this Tristan DuGrey, he was probably somewhere in the middle. Already Lorelai didn't like him and wasn't too sure she wanted Rory dating him.  
On the car ride home, Lorelai started questioning her daughter. Rory seemed almost as skeptical about the date and about Tristan as Lorelai was. But Lorelai knew that there was something other than the kiss that was pushing Rory towards Tristan.  
"Mom, do you remember that day at Romeo and Juliet...when Tristan left for military school?"  
"Yes. Tristan said goodbye to you before you left."  
"He told me that if Dean wasn't there, he would've kissed me. I realized I wanted him to kiss me."  
"It's your decision, babe, but I'm not sure I like this guy."  
"Grandpa would approve. He told me at that awful birthday party that Grandma threw for me."  
"He better be good to you or else he'll have me to deal with."  
"I know, mom."  
After arriving back at the house in Stars Hollow, Rory got a few things together and left for Yale. She found Paris in the dorm still awake not expecting Rory to be home.  
"Paris, you look a little preoccupied."  
"It's nothing."  
"You know you can tell me."  
"Well...there's this guy..."  
"Is he under 50?"  
"Yes, Rory," Paris laughs. "He's in my Criminal Justice class, his name's Alex and he's brilliant, attractive, funny..."  
"So what's the problem?"  
"He reminds me of Jamie."  
Paris' ex wasn't a name that was mentioned often between the two girls. She had left him after cheating on him with Professor Fleming. Jamie had caused so much in Paris' life and she truly did love him. Was she only attracted to this guy because he was, in her head, another Jamie? Rory and Paris overanalyzed everything before going to sleep that night.  
The next morning, Paris' mind was finally working again and she realized that Rory came home on a Friday night. Usually weekends were spent home, catching up with Lorelai and Lane and other small town things.  
"Rory...what are you doing here?"  
"What? I live here."  
"No, I mean on a weekend...you came home last night."  
"I umm...I have a date tonight."  
"With Tristan?"  
"Kinda."  
That's all that needed to be said. Paris told Rory that she'd help get ready, she knew it was going to be a night to remember. While Rory was trying to pick out an outfit, there was a knock at the door.  
"Alex?"  
Rory looked out the door to see Paris standing at the door with a boy that could've been Jamie's brother. Paris started to develop a giddy, school girl look on her face and Rory knew that she was going to be like this for a while. Alex was invited in and he and Paris sat down on the couch and talked. It had been a while since Rory saw Paris they way she was, most likely since she first met Jamie at that conference.  
Hours past by and Rory finished getting ready herself because Paris wasn't too much of a help. Rory didn't blame her though; she was caught up in her own love life. At exactly seven there was a knock on the door again. Rory walked out of her room in a small black, spaghetti strap dress that complimented her perfectly, and just a little make up to bring out her natural features.  
She answered the door and Tristan couldn't make a sound. She looked beautiful, he couldn't remember ever seeing such a magnificent sight. 


	9. Dating Dilemma

"You look...great."  
"Thanks Tristan, you don't look too bad yourself."  
"Naturally."  
Of course there could never be a conversation with Tristan DuGrey where that egotistical sarcasm didn't come into play. He looked over at Paris and Alex sitting on the couch and saw something in his childhood friend that he'd never noticed before...a smile. Paris never smiled growing up, but Tristan knew that she still wasn't for him. He only wanted one person and he was finally getting that chance.  
Walking out to Tristan's brand new Mustang, he attempted to take Rory's hand and she hesitantly accepted. Being a gentleman, Tristan opened the car door for Rory who was amazed at the person she was on a date with. She never expected Tristan to be the chivalrous type...sure he was charming and had been around, but he was still the same jerk who tortured her in high school.  
"So Mary...are you ready for a night you'll never forget?"  
"Planning ahead a little Tristan?"  
"You know it."  
Rory wanted to know what Tristan had planned for her, whatever it was she couldn't deny that she was nervous or that she wanted to kiss him again. They arrived at a little French café that looked extremely expensive and Rory let herself out of the car before Tristan had the chance to open the door. They went inside to find the hostess answering a phone call. After she wrote down the information of the caller she looked up and asked if Tristan had reservations.  
"Yes...they're under DuGrey."  
"Tristan DuGrey?" The hostess knew his name from somewhere and flashed him a seductive smile ignoring that Rory was even there.  
"Do you have admirers everywhere?"  
"Most likely. But none are as beautiful as the girl I'm with tonight."  
Rory didn't know how to respond to that. She also wasn't sure if he meant it or if that was just a line to get in her pants. All she knew was Tristan was her date and for the rest of the night she would be there – with him.  
During dinner the conversation topics stayed pretty basic...the last two years at Chilton, military school, Dean, Jess, but not very much about Tristan or his love life. He liked it that way...he didn't want to tell her that he couldn't keep a girlfriend because they all knew there was another girl on his mind.  
"I can't believe it took me over four years to finally get you on a date."  
"Why not make me sound like a prize?"  
"I didn't mean it that way, Rory, honest. I just mean I've wanted to take you out since you turned me down for that study date your first day at Chilton. It's not like Tristan DuGrey to be turned down."  
Rory just thought about how she was nothing but a prize to him. Now that he won and she accepted his date, that was it. This wasn't going to go anywhere and Rory would end up hurt. Tristan was going to leave just like Jess left. After dinner, they went to a little bakery that had coffee. Tristan could tell that ever since their conversation during dinner there was something going on with Rory. He didn't want to ruin anything; he wanted her to feel the way he did.  
Before heading back to the Yale campus, Tristan decided to take Rory to a little beach he knew of. Rory looked around the beach, it was beautiful – she saw Long Island in the distance. All the kids at Chilton talked about summer houses in the Hamptons, she'd often wondered what it was like there. Her thoughts were interrupted by Tristan walking over next to her.  
"Something's bothering you, Mary, you wanna fill me in?"  
"Not really."  
"Did I do something wrong?"  
"It's nothing, Tristan, please can we go back?"  
"I thought you'd like this place...we can talk."  
Rory decided that she couldn't get out of being there with him, so she might as well have a conversation. The two sat on the beach staring into the beautiful water...a poetic scene for a couple. Rory didn't want to be a couple, she didn't trust Tristan...a romantic walk on the beach seemed like asking for sex to her.  
"Tristan...can I ask you something?"  
"You can ask me anything. What do you wanna know? How a rich boy could have a hard, chiseled body."  
"Everything relates back to sex with you, Tristan, doesn't it?!"  
"Everyone has something they're good at."  
"So how many girls have you been with?"  
Tristan thought about Rory's question...he honestly wasn't sure because of all those drunken weekends when he and Noah had snuck out of military school. The girls at Princeton and even those back at Chilton. He knew the answer would scare away the only girl he wanted.  
"A few."  
"That's all you're going to tell me?"  
"What do you want to hear, Mary? That I sleep with any girl that I can get? Do you want to see me as Tristan the sex-craved bastard who will lie to girls to get into bed with him? Guess what, Mary, I have feelings too. You're right, let's get back to Yale."  
Tristan's outburst hurt, Rory, but she knew that she was intruding. She was so curious...she'd only been with Dean and it was only a couple of times. Tristan was more experienced...he'd been younger his first time. Rory looked over at Tristan in the driver's seat with a really distant look.  
All that Tristan could ask himself was "why?" Why did he blow up at her? He could've answered her or he could've just told her about the girls he really cared about. Maybe one day he'll tell her about his first time and the feelings he had for the girl it was with. After his little fit back at the beach he wasn't sure she'd ever want to talk to him again.  
They arrived back at Yale and Tristan walked Rory back to her room. She wouldn't even look him in the eye when she said goodbye, she just stormed into the room to find Paris. Tristan, however, waited outside the room kicking himself for being so stupid.  
Rory couldn't find Paris anywhere, and then she found a piece of paper sitting on her desk.  
  
Rory – out with Alex for the night. Don't wait up. – Paris.  
  
Rory tried to call her mother, but no one was answering the phone...most likely she was with Luke. She decided to call Luke's apartment, but not to see if her mother was there.  
"Hello?"  
"Can you come here now, please, I need someone to talk to,"Hel Rory's voice was breaking through her tears.  
"I'm on my way."  
With that Jess took his keys, left Luke a note, and headed for Yale. 


	10. Caring Confidante

          Within the hour, Rory heard a knock at the door and knew it was Jess.  She answered to find him standing there with a concerned look on his face.  She then apologized for calling him, but she really needed someone to talk to and since her mom was with Luke, he was the first name that came to mind.  Jess really wasn't too upset with being someone Rory trusted, especially after he hurt her.

          "What happened?  Didn't you have that date tonight?"

          "Yes…that's why I called you."

          "Did that bastard try anything?"

          "No…but…I don't know…I'm afraid that I'm just a game to him."

          "What makes you think that?"

          "I was the only girl at Chilton that didn't fall at his feet, he tried to get me, but I never accepted.  We kissed one night at a party, he continued to chase me.  I told Dean that I hated Tristan, Tristan heard and that was the last I'd seen of him until he was Romeo to my Juliet.  There are just things he says that make me think he didn't change at all, that all he wants is to get in my pants."

          Jess spent the next couple of hours calming Rory down.  He wasn't going to push her into Tristan's arms of course, not when he wanted her to himself.  Once Rory's calmed down she put her head on Jess's shoulder on the couch and he wrapped his arms around her.  It felt so good for her to finally be in his arms again.  She fell asleep and Jess didn't want to wake her, it had been a long night.  He did however, want to find Tristan the next morning and have a talk with him.

          Rory felt so comfortable with Jess, but he'd hurt her so much that she could never see him as more than just a best friend.  She knew falling asleep in his arms wasn't the greatest idea, but she was tired and didn't notice herself fading.

          Paris walked into the suite after her date with Alex to find Jess on the couch with Rory.

          "I thought Tristan was her date tonight," Paris questioned.

          "He was…when Rory got home she called me, upset.  I'll let her tell you about it tomorrow."

          Paris had met Jess briefly over the summer on one of her trips to Stars Hollow to visit Rory.  She always noticed the way he looked at her, but she saw how much he hurt Rory and knew why they weren't together.  Why was Rory with the guy that ran away instead of the one that was most likely pining for her just upstairs?

          Tristan was in his room angry with himself, angry with her.  Why did she have to ask him that question? Why did he have to snap at her?  He loved her more than she'd ever know; she was unlike any other girl he'd ever met.  All Tristan had wanted was for the night to be perfect, but it wasn't.  He knew something had gotten to Rory during their dinner conversation and that's what led to the argument later.  Tristan thought back to that day at Chilton when Rory told him that she wouldn't go to the PJ Harvey concert with him.  He'd taken her books like an idiot and then watched her run back to Dean.

_"Your boyfriend's waiting"_

_"He's not my boyfriend…I hate him."_

Hate.  She'd used the word hate to describe him.  Tristan knew that Rory didn't still hate him or else she wouldn't have accepted that date.  There was chemistry between them, he knew that when he kissed her at Madeline's party and when he asked her for that date.

The next morning, Rory found herself waking up in Jess' arms.

          "Jess…"

          "I should call Luke.  I didn't want to wake you last night, so I just let you sleep."

          "Thank you."

          Rory looked at Jess and knew that he was probably one of the most trusted friends she had.  He stayed with her and didn't try anything even when she was completely vulnerable.

          "I have to get back to Stars Hollow.  Call me if you need me."

          "Okay.  Good bye."

          "Good bye, Rory."

          On Jess's way out he saw a blonde with a smug face flirting with a girl in the hall.

          "Are you Tristan DuGrey?"

          "And who would you be?"

          "The name's Jess Mariano."

          "You mean Mr. 'I love you and run'?"

          Jess wanted to explode at this guy.  Who did he think he was butting into his personal life with Rory?  Jess came back into her life, didn't he?  He was there when Rory needed a friend; he wasn't playing any type of game with her.

          "You have no clue what you're talking about."

          "Sure I do, Rory told me everything.  Why are you here?"

          "Because I had an upset friend who called me and wanted me to be with her."

          Those words sunk into Tristan's heart…had he upset her that much?  He was also overcome with jealousy of the boy who hurt Rory, yet she'd gone to him.  Jess just spent the night in Rory's dorm, probably holding her all night.  Tristan didn't want his temper to talk over so he walked away.

          "Now who's walking away, DuGrey?"

          With that Jess left for Stars Hollow.  He sat in his room waiting for Luke to finish up in the diner.  The two had gotten close because of the Gilmore's…each had loved one, but only one was left with the broken heart.  Luke walked upstairs to his apartment to hear something he never thought he would…98 Degrees.

          "Jess, what the hell are you listening to?"

          "My heart."

_We do almost everything that lovers do_

_That's why it's hard, just to be friends with you_

_Every time your heart is broken by the fool_

_I want you to know that it hurts me too_

_It's hard to wipe your tears away.__Knowing that you should be with me.____Now tell me why..__Chorus: __Why, why are we still friends,__when__ everything says we should be more than we are?__and__ tell me why, __everytime__ I find someone that I like, __we__ always end up just being friends.__I would hate for you to find somebody new,__Who you really love, cause it would mean losing you.__But am I a fool girl not to see,__if__ I'm always scared I'll lose you anyway.__Somehow somewhere I've got to choose.__No matter if it's win or lose.__Now tell me why..__(Chorus)__I don't wanna be like your brother,__I don't wanna be your best friend.__I only wanna be your lover. __When will this end?__If i told you that I want to be in your life,__then__ you could be the woman in mine.__Now tell me_

_(Chorus x2)_

A/N: I know the song was corny, but I love it and it fit to describe how Jess feels.  I'm getting the Trory part, don't worry.  Thanks for all the feedback I've been getting.


	11. Forget Flashbacks

            "Something's bugging you…spill," Paris said to her roommate.

          "It's nothing."

          "Don't tell me it's nothing, Gilmore, I know you too well."

          Rory didn't want Paris to know what was going through her head.  Her feelings for Tristan, how bad he hurt her, and the one who was there.  Jess was there when Rory needed him, but she wasn't sure she could trust him anymore.  Dean might've been Rory's first love, but it was Jess who she considered sleeping with while they were together.  Jess was the first guy that Rory ever felt truly passionate about…he just fit so well with her.  Her mind flashed back to the Stars Hollow Dance-a-thon, when she realized that she had strong feelings for Jess.

**_Rory:_**_ you think you're bugging me sitting in front of me staring like that?_

**_Jess: _**_You think you're bugging me dancing in front of me staring like that?_

**_Rory:_**_ I'm not staring at you_

**_Jess:_**_ Then how do you know I'm staring at you?_

**_Rory: _**_I am dancing.  I cannot control where my glance goes.  And the few moments that I can control it, my glance goes to Dean, not you._

**_Jess:_**_ So you can't control when you look at me, but you have to force yourself to look at him?  Sorry man, that's cold._

          Then she remembered when Dean officially broke up with her because of Jess.

**_Jess:_**_ I'm gonna sit here as long as I like, and I'm gonna do whatever I like, and if you don't like it, then just ignore me and pay attention to your boyfriend._

**_Dean:_**_ Sorry, she can't.  I'm not her boyfriend anymore._

**_Rory: _**_What?_

**_Dean: _**_You know, I tried to ignore this.  I really did, but I don't know what the hell I was thinking._

**_Rory: _**_What are you talking about?_

**_Dean: _**_You don't wanna be with me, Rory.___

**_Rory:_**_ Yes I do._

**_Dean:_**_ Oh please!  You've been into hi since he got to town, and I have spent weeks – months actually – trying to convince myself that it wasn't true, that everything was fine between us.  But now I know that I was an idiot.  You're into him and he's into you, and Shane, who by the way, should be listening to this 'cause it's so damn obvious._

          That night on the bridge, she knew for sure that her feelings for Jess weren't just friendly.

**_Rory: _**_He's right.  Everything he said.  All those things about you and me, all those things about me lying to him, and messing with his head.  He was right.  Well, wasn't he?  Fine, he was right about me, then.  Now go away._

**_Jess: _**_He was right…about all of it._

          Rory couldn't get that night out of her mind…when she looked at Jess, everything was perfect.  Now he'd broken her heart and run away … twice.  Why did he have to be the one that she called?   Why was he the one that comforted her all night?  Rory didn't want to set herself up for heartache again, but she knew that's where it was headed.

          "This is about Jess, isn't it?  I didn't think it was a good sign when I saw you asleep in his arms this morning."

          "Paris – please."

          "No, I'm not going to stand by and watch him hurt you again."

          Rory convinced Paris to change the subject to her and Alex and how they were out all night.  Rory liked hearing Paris' story because it got her mind off of her night.  The girls were interrupted by a knock at the door and Tanna coming into their room to say that there was a tall, blonde guy asking for Rory.  Paris looked over at her friend and got up to answer the door.

          "I thought I asked for Mary."

          "What do you want, Tristan?  I told you not to hurt her."

          "Maybe she's not the one hurting right now!"

          "What do you mean?"

          "I don't know what I did, Paris.  All of a sudden she was acting distant then she yelled and I yelled and I fucked up, royally."

          "At least you know it."

          With that she shut the door and went back to Rory who was in a complete daze on her bed.  Paris didn't want to interrupt her thoughts; Rory hadn't even noticed her walking in the room.  A few minutes later she looked up –

          "Paris…"

          "Yeah?"

          "What did Tristan want?"

          "I think he saw Jess, maybe he wanted to apologize?  I'm not quite sure."

          "I'm glad Jess was here for me last night."

          "Really?  But after what he's done to you in the past…"        

          "He's hurt me, but I remember the night we started dating…when Dean broke up with me the second time.  I couldn't keep my eyes off Jess, he was so intriguing…so amazing."

          "What about now, Rory.  He wanted you to run away with him…he told you he loves you, then left."

          "There's just one thing, Paris…"

          "What's that?"

          "I love him."

**A/N** – I have my college orientation followed by a vacation for the next week.  I promise to write the next chapter when I get back.  This is a little filler, but I'm trying to figure out where the story's going.  Thanks for all the reviews J they're making me want to write more.


	12. Paris' Pursuit

**AN: **I promise this story will be a Trory…it's getting there, I just wanted to try out the literati twist

          "Lorelai Leigh Gilmore!"

          "I'm sorry, Paris.  I can't help how I feel."

          "I refuse to let you put yourself through this again.  Jess has proven that he will only hurt you."

          "I don't care!  I love him."

          Paris knew that talking any sense into Rory was completely hopeless.  One trait that Rory definitely inherited from her mother was that damn Gilmore stubbornness…it ran through all the Gilmore women starting with Trix (aka Lorelai the first) or maybe even sooner.  Paris couldn't let Rory go through the Jess pain again, it had happened too many times already.  He would only leave her again, it was inevitable – the boy feared commitment.

          Rory became so aggravated with her friend that she stormed out of the room when she had to go to class.  Of course of all classes it had to be Philosophies of Love and Tristan had to be there.  All through class Rory could feel him staring at her and tried her hardest to ignore him.  She wasn't going to be the prize in his little game and she wasn't going to put her heart through the pain that he wanted to cause her.  The same thought kept going through Rory's head though…what did she feel for Tristan?  Why couldn't she play a game right back with him?  This problem was nothing a phone call with Jess couldn't cure; he always knew how to make her feel better.  Professor Calines was lecturing on how an old love was always a comfort but sometimes feelings get confused.  Rory didn't know what was going on in her head anymore – Jess…Tristan…a prize to be won.  Words just going through her brain and heart confusing the hell out of her.  Why did she have to be a teenage girl with raging hormones?  This was going to get in the way of her studies…"God," thought Rory, "another thing to distract me."

          Tristan sat there, watching Rory who looked like she was being pulled a million different ways.  He wanted to go over to her, comfort her, hold her, but he knew that he couldn't.  What happened on their date the other night that made her pull away?  Why did he have to be such a jerk to her?  Was there any way he could get her back?  Tristan remembered seeing Jess walk out of Rory's apartment and just wonder what she was doing with her ex.  He didn't know what he would do if Rory and Jess were back together…especially if it happened all because of him blowing up at her.  There had to have been more than just that one little comment about the amount of girls he's been with that caused Rory to get upset…it was something that he said during dinner, but what?

          Paris sat in bed thinking about a way to stop Rory from being with Jess.  She realized that her and Rory had never discussed Rory's date with Tristan and it was that night that she found Rory sleeping in Jess's arms.  What did Tristan do?  He seemed pretty upset when she found him at the door the night before and that comment he made about Rory not being the one hurting.  She knew back at Chilton that Tristan had it bad for Rory, but Rory never noticed or cared.  Paris made it her goal to get Rory and Tristan together and leave Jess behind.  Her own feelings for Tristan weren't going to be a problem anymore…since him she had Jamie, Asher, and now Alex, there were men who made her happy and Tristan never had that power.  It was almost time for Rory to be getting back from class, so Paris left for a place where she knew she could find Tristan without Rory being around.

          Back in Stars Hollow, Jess was working in the diner when Lorelai walked in.  He tried his hardest to avoid eye contact with her, but that only made Lorelai even more curious about what was going on in Jess' life. 

          "Jess…"       

          "Yes, Lorelai?"

          "Why are you avoiding me?  What did you do to my daughter?"

          "I'm not avoiding you and I didn't do anything to Rory ever, except love her."

          "Don't forget the leaving her part."

          "Please, Lorelai.  I'm in a good mood right now.  Rory called me the other night and I got to be there for her, I might be working my way back to her heart."

          "Jess, please don't take this the wrong way, but stay away from my baby."

          "What?!"

          "You hurt her, many times.  Don't do it again."

          Luke walked into the diner to see the tension between his nephew and his girlfriend and decided to make himself the moderator.

          "What's going on here?"

          "Your girlfriend isn't letting me near her daughter."

          That was all Luke needed to hear.  He knew when he read the note from Jess the other night that he went to Yale to be with Rory.  When he walked in the next morning, Luke didn't want to know what happened.  He didn't want to have to hide anything from Lorelai and he didn't want to be involved.  Then Luke remembered the song that Jess was playing that night.  Rory went to Jess about a boy…he knew it.  It had to be that Tristan guy…Lorelai wasn't crazy about him and now Luke didn't think he would be either.

          Class at Yale let out and Rory went straight back to her room to call Jess.  They had to talk about what the Professor said, about Tristan, about them.  She picked up the phone then wondered if Jess would come running again.  Then she wondered if her mother would be sitting right there when Jess received the call.  Rory didn't care much, she figured out a way to find out exactly what was going on between her and Jess.  Tristan didn't matter, she wasn't a prize to be won.

          Paris found Tristan getting something to eat before heading back to his room after class.  She told him that they needed to talk and that it was about Rory.  Of course it was about Rory, it was always about Rory.  When Paris Gellar had a mission in her head; there was no stopping her until everything was finished.  That was the one thing that never changed, as much as Paris was a whole new person from high school, she still had her determination.

          Tristan didn't know what Paris wanted or how to explain his feelings.  They had known each other since diapers and he knew that Paris had a crush on him through Chilton, but she had a guy now, she didn't want him anymore.  Tristan knew that he was going to have to tell Paris how much he cares about Rory and how much it was killing him that he lost the only good chance he ever had.  The kiss at Madeline's party had given him so much hope – all to be lost as soon as he yelled at her that night all those years later.

          "Tristan, can I talk to you?"

          "Sure, Paris."

          "What happened the other night?"

          "Honestly, I don't know.  Everything was going great then she made a comment about being a prize to me.  I told her that she wasn't, but I don't think she really believed me.  Later I was just being myself…"

          "Big mistake," Paris cut him off.

          "I'm serious…but she asked me a question and I flipped out on her."

          "Is Rory just a prize to you?  Back at Chilton she was the only girl that wasn't completely crazy about you.  The only girl that didn't fall at your feet.  That made her a challenge…the one girl that the 'Great Tristan DuGrey' couldn't get.  You finally got her on a date, so did you win?"

          "I lost her!  I didn't win a thing.  Paris, I love her.  I've loved her since Chilton…I did everything I could to get her then, I even screwed you over multiple times and made it look like her fault.  She's not a prize to me…she's everything."

          Paris didn't quite know how to respond.  She thought back to all the times she hated Rory and how many of those were because of Tristan.  He really had drawn a wedge between the two of them, but once he was gone they got through it.  She didn't realize how strong Tristan's feelings were, but now she knew that she had to get them together.  She had to convince Rory to give Tristan another chance and listen to his point of view.

          Jess arrived at Rory's suite door and entered the room that was becoming all too familiar to him.  He looked at her face and saw a serious expression, but she also looked confused.  Jess only wanted to hold her and be with her until everything was perfect…he hoped with everything he had that could happen.  But then he realized that Rory wouldn't go against Lorelai for him…not again at least.  Rory looked at Jess and told him to sit down on the couch.  She knew that there was only one way to see if Jess was really the one in her heart.  He had no clue what was in store for him until Rory leaned over and kissed him.  The kiss had so much passion; when she opened her mouth he gladly welcomed her tongue.   The two continued their heated kiss as Paris walked in the room.


	13. Constant Confusion

          Paris didn't have a clue what to do or say or even what she walked in on.  She couldn't believe that Rory was actually going through with this; she was only going to get hurt again.  Paris swore to herself that when Rory came to her crying there wouldn't be a single bit of sympathy only an 'I told you so.'

          Rory and Jess broke their kiss to see Paris standing there and suddenly the room became very awkward.

          "Paris…how long have you been standing there?" Rory asked very flustered.

          "Long enough," the blonde responded angrily as she stormed to her room.

          Paris didn't know what to do in order to protect her friend from trouble.  She though about calling Lorelai, she'd know what to do…or maybe Lane, but Lane had gone to California to see Dave and was unreachable for another week.  Lorelai was dating Jess's uncle so she had to know that Rory was with Jess…didn't she?  She thought back to her conversation with Tristan; his feelings for Rory were something that she really deserved.  Sure, Jess loved Rory, but he didn't love her enough to not hurt her.

          In the common room, Rory was thinking about the kiss her and Jess just shared.  It didn't have the sparks or the passion as when Tristan had kissed her a few days earlier.  She almost felt like the kiss was incestuous…Jess was one of her best friends, her brother.  Rory wondered what Jess was thinking and hoped that he felt the same way.  Hurting him was the last thing that she wanted to do; not that he didn't deserve it.  The kiss with Tristan had been so amazing, if only she wasn't a prize to him.

          Jess stared at Rory in amazement of that kiss.  Even when they were dating she hadn't kissed him with so much passion…but he noticed her reaction wasn't the same.  He tried to convince himself that it was because Paris walked in the room, but he knew that wasn't it.  This time around he was in the same boat as Dean; Rory didn't want to be with him.  The two had hated each other because of this girl and she brought them together by not wanting either anymore. 

          "Rory…do you still love me?"

          "What?"

          "Do you still love me?"

          "Of course I do, Jess.  But…"

          "That's what I thought.  Is there someone else?"

          "No…yes…I don't know.  Whatever was between us, I don't feel it anymore."

          "Who is it?  It's Tristan, isn't it?  You're setting yourself up with him."

          "Jess…please!  You're my best friend, next to my mom of course, but you're up there with Lane…I don't want to lose you."

          "I don't want to lose you either, but just friends is going to be hard.  I love you Lorelai Leigh Gilmore."

          The full name.  He knew that he was going to get to her with that.  No one called Rory by her full name, it was too proper.  She knew that she loved Jess too, but she didn't feel the sparks when she kissed him and she knew loving him would mean losing him.  The two talked and Jess left pretty upset but accepting that he wasn't going to have Rory again.

          Rory walked into the bedroom to find Paris on the phone with who she assumed to be Alex.  She zoned out and thought about Tristan and how sweet he was until she brought up his past.  Even after she'd gotten upset with him, Tristan still tried his hardest to make the best out of anything.  She wasn't going to go for it though; she didn't want to be Tristan DuGrey's prize.  Her thoughts were cut off when she realized who Paris was talking to."

          "I know, Lorelai, but can you talk to her…"

          Why was Paris on the phone with Rory's mother?  Rory knew that she had a problem with the Jess thing, but didn't think she needed Lorelai's guidance.

          "Rory…your mom wants to talk to you."

          Rory hesitantly took the phone from Paris.

          "Hi, Mom."

          "So Jess was there again.  Sweetie, I love you and I love Luke, but Jess is no good for you."

          "Hello to you too, Lorelai," Rory heard in the background.

          "Are you at the diner?" Rory questioned.

          "No, Luke's apartment, but that doesn't matter.  Paris told me what happened before, now I want to hear it from you."

          "Ask Jess, he's right there."

          "Rory!"

          "Fine.  Nothing's going on with Jess and me.  We ended it for good and now I probably lost one of my best friends."    

          "I'll talk some sense into the boy."

          "I'm going now, mom.  I love you."

          "Goodbye sweetheart."

          Rory glared at Paris wondering what she told Lorelai.  Paris quickly came to her own defense and told Rory that she didn't like walking in on that kiss and knew that Lorelai should hear about it.  Rory told her that she could talk to her mother on her own, but she knew there was more that Paris wasn't telling her.  Paris changed the subject to how good Tristan looks now that he's back from military school and wondered what happened on their date.

          "Why are you pushing Tristan on me?  He's the reason you hated me in Chilton."

          "He's changed and he's better now, why not give him a chance."

          "I did…and he blew it."

          "What happened the other night?"

          "I'm nothing more than a prize to him.  I was the one girl that didn't drool over the great Tristan 'King of Chilton' and that just made him feel the need to get in my pants.  I've been hurt enough by guys that I don't need to deal with that."

          "Maybe there's more to Tristan that you're not seeing."

          "He basically said it, Paris."         

          Paris grew silent; she couldn't tell Rory about her conversation with Tristan earlier.  It was exactly what Tristan thought it was; now it was time for the two of them to figure out a way to prove to Rory that Tristan was crazy about her.

          Tristan sat in his room alone, Marty was at class.  He didn't know what to do especially not after his conversation with Paris.  Rory hated him and believed something that was the furthest thing from the truth.  _I guess it's my fault._ Tristan thought in reference to the way he acted in Chilton and just his attitude towards her.  She made him nervous, that was something no other girl had been able to do.  In his nerves, Tristan would just go into 'King Mode' and act like a complete ass.  That's where he lost her.  That's where he would lose her forever.

          Tristan's thoughts were interrupted by the phone…he answered it to hear Noah on the other line.

          "Hey man, about the other night…I'm sorry."

          "Don't worry about it.  I fucked it up anyway."

          "With your Mary?"

          "Yeah.  She thinks I'm you."

          "Ouch.  But I know a guy who used to be just like me."

          "Don't remind me."

          "Listen DuGrey, if this girl's worth it just try again."

          "For once, Carlisle, you make sense."

          Tristan talked to his military school buddy for a while then decided that he had to try again with Rory if he was going to get his other chance.  He knew her schedule by heart so he would cut her off at her coffee stop.  Hold a cup of coffee over that girl's head and she'll do anything you want.  At least Tristan hoped that would work.

          Meanwhile in Luke's apartment Lorelai stood there and stared at Jess who looked like he had tears in his eyes.  She'd never seen the tough boy cry and couldn't bear to think that it was her daughter that caused it.

          "Jess, what happened?"

          "Didn't Paris just tell you?  That girl really has to mind her own business."

          "She only cares.  I want to hear it from you…what happened?"       

          "You got your wish and I lost the love of my life?"

          "My _wish_?"

          "You know you don't want me with Rory so don't give me any bullshit about caring about me."

          "Jess…"

          "No, Lorelai.  You hated me from the day I got here – you didn't want me corrupting your baby girl.  But it was really that goody two shoes bag boy that did.  Do you know that he was the one who always started with me over her?  I left because I was confused; hurting her was the last thing on my mind.  You never gave me a chance no matter what Rory said or Luke said you hated me.  So be happy, Rory only wants me as a friend.  I can't do friend so no you get me out of her life."

          Lorelai was left speechless…Jess was right she'd never given him a chance.  Rory loved him, she knew that, but why didn't she want to be with Jess? 

          "Lorelai Gilmore…speechless…that's a new one.  I'll leave you to your thoughts."

          With that Jess walked out of the apartment where he saw Dean standing at the bottom of the stairs in the diner.

          "You yell pretty loud, Mariano.  What happened to peace between us?"

          "Maybe you should've thought of that a few years ago.  I was thinking about Rory and what she wanted.  But she didn't want us to be friends…she didn't even want either of us."

          Even Dean could tell that Jess was hurt by something Rory said.  She only wanted to be friends but Jess loved her too much for that to be possible.  He hoped that one day she'd realize she loved him too.

          Rory left her afternoon class at Yale and was writing in her 'things-to-tell-Lane' notebook that she'd been keeping while Lane was away.  She wrote a single word…

          "Nice to know my name is important to you, Mary.  Could I interest you in some coffee?"

          "Will you ever get over yourself, Bible Boy?"

          "As soon as you get over me."


	14. Third Try

Rory looked at Tristan's trademark smirk and didn't know how to react. She was feeling something for him but knew that if he saw that he would believe he won. Admitting defeat to Tristan DuGrey's little game wasn't exactly on Rory's list of things to do. She thought about hurting Paris for putting these ideas into her head…Tristan wasn't worth even a second glance.

"I guess if you don't want this coffee, I'll have to drink it myself"

Tristan put the cup to his mouth as Rory grabbed it away from him.

"Don't contaminate my life juice!"

"I knew you'd see it my way, Mary."

Before Rory got a chance to respond, her cell phone started ringing in her pocket.

"Hello?"

"I have to talk to you…before your mother does," said the voice on the other end.

"Jess? What happened?"

"I was pissed, she was there, I yelled."

"At my mother?"

"Yes and now she hates me more than ever."

"I don't know what to say to you, Jess. What did you say to her?"

"I called her hatred for me and how she wanted you with Dean and I don't even know. It was all in anger, Rory, I love you…you know that."

"Yes…"

She didn't know what to say. She did love Jess, but she couldn't be with him – the sparks weren't in that kiss. Maybe she didn't want to feel the sparks…it was Paris again. Paris was starting to control Rory's thoughts the way she tried to control everything back when they were at Chilton. Jess knew that Rory wasn't going to say it back so he told her he had to go and hung up the phone. Almost as if on cue, the phone rang again...

"Hello?"

"I never want you to see that guy again."

"Dean? What the…"

"Jess. I heard him yelling at Lorelai, he blames me for every fight we ever got into. He thinks that…"

"Dean, you did always start it. He told me what happened on Thanksgiving…about how he walked away from you."

"Maybe divorcing Lindsay wasn't the right thing to do. I thought I had you to be with, but I guess I was wrong. You always wanted Jess over me…God, Rory, how was I this blind? Here goes history repeating itself, it's that fucking dance all over again."

"Dean, we're not together!"

Tristan couldn't listen anymore, he wanted to take Rory in his arms and comfort her. He started to walk away when he heard his name being screamed across the green.

"Yo, DuGrey!"

"Carlisle?"

A tall dark haired, green eyed, guy walked over to Tristan and saw the anxious girl on the phone behind him.

"Mary?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Maybe the hopeless puppy staring at her? Tristan DuGrey's gone soft on me…do we have to go back to military school."

Rory finally got Dean off the phone and her eyes started to tear. She went to her coffee for comfort and headed back to the dorm. She could feel Tristan's eyes following her and wondered who the attractive guy with him was. The walk back to the dorm seemed to take longer than usual for Rory, but when she got there Paris was waiting with most likely another lecture.

Paris saw her friend with tears in her eyes and hoped that they weren't caused by Tristan. Rory explained the phone calls from Jess than Dean and how she couldn't go back to Stars Hollow…it was mess with her mind even more. Paris tried to calm Rory down, but wasn't doing too great of a job since Rory believed she was the one who caused her twisted thoughts.

"Paris, I don't even know what I'm thinking anymore. I love Jess, but there was nothing in that kiss…maybe I didn't want to feel it. You keep pushing Tristan but I don't want him to hurt me."

"Give Tristan another chance. Behind that sarcastic smirk there's a great guy."

"There's something I never told you…or anyone for that matter…"

"Rory…?"

"Remember Madeline's party my first year at Chilton? You were itching to get out as soon as possible and Summer broke up with Tristan…"

"Yea…"

"It was the day after Dean and I broke up and I saw Tristan sitting at the piano and he umm…well, he…kissed me."

Paris was in shock, mostly over this being the first she was hearing about it. She started to understand why Tristan was so hell bent on getting Rory to feel for him. When he kissed her all those years ago, he felt something and was convinced that she didn't. Unrequited love was something very new to Tristan…Rory was more than just a mission to him. She told Rory just to give Tristan one more shot; maybe he can prove himself this time.

She then suggested the two girls go for a walk around campus to get more coffee since Rory was staring at the bottom of her empty cup. When they walked towards the coffee shop, they saw Tristan and that gorgeous guy that Rory had seen him with earlier. Paris noticed as soon as Tristan's eyes hit Rory, they never left her. The two boys started to approach them.

"Tristan."

"Paris. Mary."

"Hello, Tristan."

"Paris Geller, Rory Gilmore…this is my friend from military school, Noah Carlisle."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Rory sensed that same charm in Noah that everyone always saw in Tristan. He could manipulate any girl into sleeping with him…no wonder he was Tristan's friend.

Noah saw that Rory remained completely uninterested in him and Tristan, but didn't wonder why Tristan wanted this girl. She was beautiful and had a very innocent look to her…maybe it was those blue eyes.

Paris pulled Tristan off to the side, he of course knew why. Rory was wondering if Paris knew something she didn't…maybe Paris was helping with this little game Tristan was playing.

"I've almost got her convinced to give you another chance. Don't blow it."

"I owe you my life, Paris."

"I know. She's hurting now because of Jess…try not to play that you're taking advantage of it."

"Okay."

Paris and Tristan rejoined Noah and Rory who were sparring over whether or not she wanted him.

"Wow…two Tristans. I might have to kill myself now."

"Ouch, Mary, that hurts," Tristan said sarcastically clutching his heart.

"And I'm insulted," Noah added.

"You know you want to be me, Carlisle."

"I'll let you two settle this, come on, Paris, there's coffee calling my name."

"Didn't I just give you coffee?"

"She finished it and needs more."

"Mary...I mean Rory. Can I talk to you for a second?"

Rory reluctantly agreed and walked off to the side with Tristan. He asked her if he could take her out to get some coffee and without thinking she agreed. Tristan thought it was way too easy and Rory was confused over what she'd just agreed to.

Rory and Paris sat in their room before having to go to class and discussed Rory's second date with Tristan. Rory told Paris that she was willing to give Tristan another chance, but if he screwed up again it was done. She wasn't going to let herself be his prize.

"What was that all about?"

"I asked her out to coffee…and she agreed," Tristan said smiling.

"DuGrey finally gets his Mary. Maybe she won't be a Mary anymore by the end of the night."

"Fuck you, Carlisle."

"What?!"

"That's not what this is about."

"Remember that girl in North Carolina; the one you thought would get you to forget Rory? You told me that you really cared about her but as soon as she put out, you moved on."

"Because she wasn't Rory."

"Whatever, Tris."

The truth was Tristan did care about Taryn, the girl in North Carolina, he just didn't think it was fair to her. He was in love with someone else; he wasn't going to lead her on.

"By the way, Tristan, I left a surprise in your room."  
Noah and Tristan walked back to Tristan's dorm to find the "surprise."

"Tristan!"

"Taryn…"

**AN: I was thinking of making the story a Lit…opinions? Please review and let me know if you want to see a literati or a trory.**


	15. Extreme Ex

**AN:** Warning – this is where the R rating is going to come into play for the first time besides for language

Tristan had no clue how to react to his ex girlfriend being in his dorm room.  He never explained to her why he broke up with her, but she knew that there was another girl.  Everyone knew as soon as Tristan DuGrey arrived that there was a girl on his mind, one that no one could ever replace.  Taryn had no clue that she was going to meet the girl that led to her heartbreak.

          "No hug?"

          "Sorry Tar, I guess I'm just surprised to see you."

          "I was going to be in the area and I found out Noah was going to be here so I decided to surprise you.  If you don't want me here then I'll leave."

          Tristan hugged his friend and wondered if there was another reason for her showing up.  He wasn't going to let anything ruin the date he made with Rory – he wasn't going to fuck up again.  He was taking her out after her classes on Friday then dropping her off in Hartford at her grandparents before heading to see his own grandfather.

          Noah and Taryn could both tell that Tristan was off in his own little world, Taryn wondered why.  She always wanted to know why Tristan waited until after he slept with her to break it off…she thought that she truly loved him.  Taryn wasn't a socialite but she was quite beautiful.  She had long blonde hair and blue eyes not unlike Rory's and was tall and thin…quite a catch to most guys.  The only guy she wanted was Tristan and she was going to stop at nothing to get him again.

          Tristan had to go to class so he left Noah and Taryn in his room and told them that Marty would probably be back at any time.  As soon as he left the room Taryn tried to find out everything.

          "Noah, what's going on with him?"

          "What do you mean?"

          "The girl that was always on his mind in North Carolina…she's here isn't she?"

          "I don't know what you're talking about."

          Taryn wasn't stupid; she knew that Noah was hiding something.

          "Noah Carlisle, don't pull this bull shit on me.  Tell me about this girl…I need to know everything.  I will do everything in my power to get Tristan DuGrey back in my bed."

          "Taryn, you lost him…fuck, you never had him."

          "We'll see about that."

          With that Taryn walked out of Tristan's room to explore the Yale campus.  She looked at every attractive girl and couldn't figure out which could be Tristan's precious love.  One girl kept catching her attention though, the one who looked very natural walking with her talkative friend.  _Could it be?  Never, she's not a typical beauty queen…but she is pretty…_

          On the other side of the campus Paris was rambling on to Rory about how she made the right decision to give Tristan another chance.  Rory knew that Paris was hiding something from her, but couldn't begin to think about what it was.  There was so much going through Rory's head she didn't know which end was up.  This date with Tristan was just going to shut him up, make him realize that Rory Gilmore wasn't a prize to be won.

          The next day Rory felt that a blonde she'd never seen before was watching her.  She was being paranoid…or so she thought, the way her mind was there was no telling what she'd think.  She knew there was only one solution – a day with Lorelai.  As soon as her last class let out she got in her car and headed for Stars Hollow.

          Lorelai wasn't at the Dragonfly or home so Rory knew exactly where to find her.  She walked into the diner and found her mother in the midst of an argument with Luke over serving her coffee.

          "Are you keeping my mother from her blood again?"

          Lorelai turned around excited to see her daughter but at the same time worried because she never came home during the week.

          "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

          "I'm going out with Tristan again on Friday…I don't know why.  Maybe I'll tell him once and for all that I'm not a prize."

          Jess heard a familiar voice and walked downstairs to see Rory in the diner.  What was she doing there on a Wednesday afternoon?  Something was wrong; he wanted to comfort her but knew that wasn't welcome.

          "Rory…"

          "Jess…hi."

          "What's wrong?"

          "That's what I'm trying to figure out.  Me. Her mother."

          "I'm sorry for caring, Lorelai – I'll go back upstairs now."

          "Jess…wait! Don't go…please?"

          "Your mother doesn't want me here. I'll talk to you soon, Rory."

          "I have to get back to work, walk with me over to the Inn and tell me all about it."

          "Yesterday I was with Paris and she keeps pushing this whole Tristan thing on me and then we met his friend who was giving me weird looks.  Then today I felt like some blonde girl was staring at me and I still love Jess and I don't know mom."

          "Where does Jess fit into this?"

          "I'm going on a date with Tristan, maybe I'm going only to get over Jess.  Maybe I want to go out with Tristan.  I don't know."

          Their conversation was interrupted when they heard "Rory" being screamed and Lane came running.

          "Lane!?  I thought you were with Dave until Saturday?"

          "The trip got cut a little short because of the whole school thing.  California was amazing, Dave's amazing."

          "I'm so glad to hear that."

          "What are you doing home?"

          "Boy issues.  Tristan's back."

          "Tristan? Spawn of Satan? Romeo to your Juliet?"

          "That's the one.  I have a date with him Friday."

          "Wow…I missed a lot."

          "Yea, but I don't have time to fill you in now.  I'm going back to the Dragonfly with mom then heading back to Yale before Paris sends out a search party."

          "Saturday…coffee at Luke's whenever you wake up?"

          "I'll be there.  Bye Lane, I missed you."  
          Lane left leaving Rory with Lorelai.  The two talked about Tristan and Jess but didn't come up with any solution.  Before heading back to Yale, Rory was convinced that she should give this thing with Tristan a try.  If the date didn't turn out well maybe Tristan would give up on her. 

          Tristan was sitting in his room attempting to study.  It was pretty hard to study knowing that he'd be out with the girl of his dreams in 48 hours.  The studying was stopped when Taryn came in the room.

          "Tris, we need to talk."

          She asked him what happened between them and why he broke up with her.  There was no mention of another girl on Taryn's part but Tristan knew that she was thinking something along those lines.

          "Do you want the truth?"

          "Yes."

          "I didn't feel like I was being fair to you.  I really cared about you and didn't want to hurt you, but I wasn't all in it."

          "What do you mean?"

          "Back at Chilton – before I went to military school – there was a girl that I was crazy about.  She hated me, but I never stopped thinking of her.  I didn't think it was right to be with you if my heart was somewhere else."   

          "So you just used me to fool around?"  

          "It's nothing like that.  I told you I cared about you a lot and I thought maybe I would stop thinking of her, but it didn't happen.  I didn't want things to get out of hand so I ended it."     

          "Do you ever miss me?"

          "Sometimes."

          Tristan felt it was getting harder to respond to her questions when his body was responding to her touch.  Taryn always knew exactly how to get a rise out of him…in more than one sense of the word.  He tried to stop her, but hormones took over.  Taryn slowly unzipped Tristan's pants to expose the reaction she'd been creating.  She took him in her mouth until he was moaning and stopped fighting her.  After he came she stood up and said, "I know you missed that."

          Tristan was left completely speechless…he was a guy so he wasn't going to say he didn't enjoy it, but what if Rory found out?  Rory would never go near him if she knew his ex girlfriend went down on him the day after he asked her on a date.  They weren't going steady or anything so it wasn't cheating, but this was his little Mary.  She was as innocent as they come.

          "So Tristan…tell me about this girl.  Does she go here?"

          He wouldn't answer any questions; Tristan knew Taryn's motives.  She was going to try to ruin everything, but he wouldn't let her.  Little did he know, she was Noah talking to the same girl she'd already been watching right before going to Tristan's room.

          Rory was walking back to her dorm after talking to Noah for a few minutes in the parking lot when she got back from Stars Hollow.  The blonde girl that she thought was staring at her walked over to her.

          "Excuse me…do you know Tristan DuGrey?"

          "Yes, why?"

          "I'm his ex girlfriend.  I saw you talking to Noah earlier – are you the girl he's going out with?"

          "I wouldn't say 'going out' we have a date."

          "You don't seem like a fast mover – what does he want from you?"

          "Excuse me?"

          "He's the type of guy who'll do it anywhere, anytime.  Hell, he just made me go down on him."

          "I didn't need to know that."

          Rory walked away from the blonde rather disgusted and went back to her dorm.  Paris was sitting there wondering where Rory had been.  Rory explained that she needed to talk to her mother than told her about the mysterious blonde outside her room.  The phone rang as Paris was imitating vomit over Rory's story.

          "Hello?" Paris answered, "sure Tristan, hold on…Rory!"

          "Hey Tristan.  I just met someone very interesting."

          "That's kinda why I was calling."

          "So it is true?"

          "What is?"

          "That you engaged in oral sex with her?"

          "You are a Mary using those words.  I want to explain."

          "Forget it, Tristan!"

          "Rory, please.  Just let me explain.  I couldn't stop her –"

          "I don't care, Tristan.  I thought maybe…"       

          "Maybe what?  You're falling for me but because of this you're not?  That's ridiculous Rory, you're not canceling our date."

          "Fine.  I'll see you Friday."

          Tristan wasn't sure what just happened, but he wanted to kill Taryn.  She was going to ruin everything, but he'd never let her.


	16. Mary's Makeover

          Paris walked over to Rory or was just staring at the phone after she hung it up.  She wanted to know exactly what Tristan said to her; how he explained his actions.

          "I can't believe I'm going through with this Paris.  This girl was proof that he doesn't actually like me; that he wants to see how far I can go."

          "Rory!  She's an ex girlfriend, how do you know she's not just trying to get him back?"

          "Whatever, Paris.  I agreed to go through with this date Friday night and I'm still going.  Mr. DuGrey will see a side to his Mary that he never imagined before."

          Paris was afraid of what Rory was planning, but she was going out with Alex and didn't have time to stick around and listen.  After Paris left, Rory took herself to the mall with the emergency credit card her grandmother had given her.  _This is an emergency_, she thought.

          Marty returned to his room after class to find his roommate sulking on his bed.

          "What's got you?"

          "Gilmore."

          "Did I even have to ask?"

          Marty's friends showed up at the door before Tristan had a chance to explain anything.  Although the two were roommates, they weren't the closest of friends.  Tristan wanted to know exactly what Taryn said to Rory and how far she was going to go.  Taryn had a reputation back in North Carolina to be a go-getter…anything she wanted, she didn't stop until she got.  Tristan began to realize how Rory felt about him…like a prize.  He didn't want to be Taryn's prize just like Rory didn't want to be his prize.  Tristan began to plan the perfect date for Rory to win not her, but her heart.

          Back in Stars Hollow Luke asked Lorelai if they could sit down and talk about the Jess thing.

          "Look Lorelai, we've been friends for a long time…"

          "Since you started supplying me with my coffee."      

          "Jess is my nephew and I really do care about him."

          "Where's this going?"

          "He loves your daughter, but you won't even let him talk to her.  The more you push him away from her the more he's going to go after her."

          "I don't care, Luke.  He hurt her…twice!  Who says I love you then gets in the car and leaves?"

          "That was a mistake and he learned his lesson.  Jess is hurting."

          "So was Rory."

          Luke knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere with this conversation.  He tried to get Lorelai to give Jess another chance but it didn't look like that was happening.  Luke started thinking to himself, _am I trying to help Jess with Rory?_

          Jess on the other hand was sitting upstairs thinking about Rory on a date with Tristan.  That guy couldn't possibly have any feelings for her – not like his own feelings.  Jess was also wondering why Rory had never told him about Tristan before.  She'd explained everything that happened at Chilton, but when Jess got to town there was still Tristan in the picture.  He remembered one night Dean showing up at the Diner looking extremely pissed off and clinging to Rory with a jealous look.  _That must've been the night of Romeo and Juliet rehearsal._  He didn't think Rory would ever go for a guy that got sent to military school because the cops decided to let his parents choose a punishment.  Jess himself was a "bad boy" but never bad enough to have cops around. 

          On Thursday, Noah and Taryn told Tristan that they both were going back home.  Noah left first wishing Tristan luck on his date with Rory.  After he was gone Taryn looked Tristan in the eye and just stared at him seductively.

          "You know you still want me, Tristan."

          "I'm over you, Taryn."

          "You're not over…this," she said tracing her body.

          Taryn went over to Tristan and started rubbing her body against him while holding him close to her.  Tristan tried to pull away, but he couldn't.  He knew exactly what Taryn was trying to do and he wasn't going to let her.  She threw him down onto the bed and got down on her knees.  When she started to undo his pants – he tried moving her hands away.  She just fought her way right back in there and removed his boxers with her teeth.

          "Taryn! Stop!"

          "You won't be saying that once I get started."

          Taryn found a condom in Tristan's wallet which she had just pulled out of his pants.  She opened it and seductively put it on him until he was hard.  She knew he wasn't going to voluntarily do anything so she removed her panties from under her skirt and lowered herself onto Tristan's lap.  There was nothing he could do at this point – she was holding his hands down and riding him like there was no tomorrow.  After he came she got up and looked him straight in the eye.

          "I'm sure your precious little girlfriend will never do you like that."

          "Fuck you, Taryn, and get the fuck out of here."

          He was so angry, but not at Taryn…at himself.  There had to have been something he could do to stop her.  _Damn male hormones!_  He remembered his first time with Taryn and how he couldn't stop thinking about Rory.  That was why he broke it off to begin with…he was sleeping with Taryn but thinking about someone else.  She was a beautiful girl and could get any other guy, why did she want him?

          Taryn walked out of the room feeling very proud of herself and once again leaving campus she ran into Rory Gilmore.

          "Hello again."

          "Goodbye."

          "Ya know, I never caught your name."

          "I'm not offering it."

          "I thought I'd let you in on a little secret.  Tristan and me…well we just fucked."

          "And that's more than I needed to know."

          Rory acted completely unfazed by everything Taryn was saying which just angered her even more.

          "I'm Taryn, by the way.  But I'm sure Tristan's mentioned me."

          "Actually he hasn't."

          There was nothing getting to this girl…every word just made Taryn more pissed off and more determined to end this relationship between **her** Tristan and this little virgin.

          On the inside, Taryn's words were crushing Rory.  She nonchalantly went back to her dorm room, collapsed on the bed and started crying.  Paris got back from class and saw Rory's fit of hysterics.  Rory wouldn't talk and Paris had convinced herself that Tristan was the cause so she went over to his room.

          "DuGrey – we need to talk now."

          "What's up, Paris?"

          "Rory's in our room crying and I'm guessing you know why."

          "I honestly don't know…unless…fuck!"

          "What?"

          "My ex girlfriend, the one I broke up with because of Rory, she was here earlier and well basically, she raped me."

          "Raped?"

          "I didn't exactly fight her, but I didn't want her to do it."

          "Tristan, rape is something serious.  If she forced intercourse on you then you should tell someone."

          "And who's gonna believe the sex loving Tristan DuGrey?  I can't say I didn't enjoy it, but I wasn't thinking of her.  I'm sure she saw Rory and told her and now Rory's going to want nothing to do with me."  
          "If she's your ex and you've done it before then you can't cry rape on this one.  Tomorrow night better be perfect for Rory otherwise you're going to be left here while she runs back to Jess."

          "I will do everything I can to show Rory exactly how I feel about her.  Fuck Jess."

          Friday night came along and Taryn was still lurking around the New Haven area trying to figure out how she could ruin Tristan's date.  Little did she know what Rory had planned.  Rory asked Paris to run and get her a cup of coffee while she changed and Paris willingly obliged.  She had no clue what she was in for when she returned to the dorm room.

          Paris walked in to find Rory standing there in a black mini skirt with a low cut spaghetti strap tank top.  Her makeup was done more than Paris had ever seen her wear before.

          "Please tell me that's what you're wearing **under** your clothes."

          "I'm dressing as the kind of girl Tristan wants."

          Paris mumbled something that Rory couldn't quite understand.  Before Paris could get any words out there was a knock at the door.

          "I'll get it," Rory volunteered.

          Tristan stared at her…he wanted to ask what the fuck she was wearing, but he couldn't form a coherent sentence.  His defenses were about to go up.

          "Well, well, well, look at my little Mary.  It seems she does want me."


	17. Lorelais' Love

**AN: **To everyone who comments: you guys rock to the max.  I've gotten such amazing comments that I want to write more and more.  Sorry for not listing everyone by name but I'm always afraid of leaving someone out.  If you would like to volunteer something for the story then feel free to comment that.

          "In your dreams, Tristan."

          "Every night, Rory.  But if you don't want me then what's with the clothes?"

          "I figured I'd make you more comfortable.  I'll be more like the girls you're used to taking out."

          There was no comeback for that.  In fact, Tristan was left completely speechless and upset that Rory though that.  It didn't come to him that maybe Taryn had done something to his innocent Mary.  After their date he was going to take her somewhere they could talk…where he could tell her anything she wanted to know.

          "So are you ready to go?"

          "Yep."

          "You might want to grab a coat," Tristan said looking out the window at the cool September afternoon in Connecticut.

          "I'll be fine."

          And with that the two left on their date.  Tristan asked if he could pick her up from her grandparents and take her out again afterwards.  Rory simply responded that it would depend on how their date went.  He took her to a little coffeehouse because that was one ploy to get her that she would look over.

          "I guess you do know me too well," Rory laughed when she saw the location.

          "A Gilmore will never be separated from her coffee."

          Rory smiled at Tristan's response.  _Maybe this date won't be as bad as I thought_.  They sat at the coffee shop for a couple of house just talking and truly enjoying themselves.  Rory completely forgot what about her plans to manipulate Tristan into thinking he won.  She was finally seeing him as an okay guy, there was a lot more to Tristan DuGrey than met the eye.  The subject of high school and what went on between them was never really mentioned.

          Tristan looked at the clock and saw that it said 6:25 and suggested to Rory they leave because they were a half hour out of Hartford.  Before leaving Rory excused herself to the bathroom so she could change into something more conservative before heading to the grandparents.  

          Richard and Emily had sorted out a lot of their differences and Emily had moved back into the house.  She had her own bedroom and the two didn't speak much, but they were at least moving forward.  When Rory arrived at the elder Gilmore home, Lorelai was already there with a huge grin. 

          "Mom?  What's going on?"

          "I have big news to announce tonight.  I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn't want to over the phone."

          "Tell me now."

          "No, you have to wait."

          The girls sat in the living room while Emily fixed drinks…it was a normal Friday night dinner as the ones going on for the past four years.

          "So, Rory," Emily asked, "how's that boy, Tristan?"

          "He actually dropped me off here from our date and he's picking me up to take me out again.  Things are going pretty well, I think."

          "Good, it's about time you dated the right kind of boy," Emily added.

          Lorelai didn't let the comments against her daughter's judgment effect her and Rory took note of that.  The news she had must've been huge.

          "And Lorelai, how's your Inn?"

          "Great, mom.  Sookie and the kitchen staff have been getting amazing reviews and Michel is becoming almost friendly."

          Dinner was served and the four sat at the dining room table at an awkward silence.  Emily noticed a big smile on her daughter's face and decided to break the silence by asking her for a reason.

          "Do I need a reason to be happy?"

          Rory looked at her mother anxiously wanting to know what happened.

          "Lorelai…" Richard just stared at her.

          "Okay, I have big news.  I wanted to wait until later, but if you must know…"

          "MOM!"

          "Luke asked me to marry him.  And I said yes."

          Rory got up and ran over to hug her mother.  Everyone in Stars Hollow and even Emily and Richard knew the two were very much in love for longer than either of them knew.  That's why none of their relationships worked out…Rachel told Luke when she broke up with him that it was because of Lorelai.  Jason though, still hadn't gotten the hint.  For months he'd been calling Lorelai only to be blown off time and again.  Emily and Richard both congratulated their daughter and accepted that no definite plans were being made.  Although Emily would've much rather seen Lorelai married to Christopher, she knew that wasn't going to happen.

          The rest of the dinner turned into a conversation about the wedding and Luke and Lorelai.  Rory almost didn't want to go out with Tristan so that she could spend more time with her mother.  She knew that Lorelai was going back to celebrate with Luke…he'd only proposed to her the night before.  Lorelai wanted to make sure she was right by his side when the diner closed.  It was a good thing Rory wasn't living in the house at that time.

          At 9:30, after dessert was finished at the Gilmore house, the doorbell rang.  Emily answered it to see a blonde young man standing at the door.  She'd seen him at social functions in the past and assumed that he was Tristan DuGrey.

          "Hello Mrs. Gilmore, I'm Tristan DuGrey…you might know my grandfather, Janlan."

          "Why yes, I do.  Come on in Tristan, Rory's in the living room."

          "Thank you."

          Tristan saw Rory sitting on the couch in the outfit she left him in.  She looked beautiful when she was dressed modestly.  He thought about the way she was dressed when he picked her up.  It hadn't effected the rest of the date but he didn't feel she was the same girl at first glance.  Rory didn't wear slutty clothes, she wasn't one of those girls…he couldn't deny she looked hot, but that wasn't the Rory he loved.

          Richard and Lorelai both greeted Tristan and asked where he was taking Rory.  He responded that he didn't want her to know but he promised to take good care of her.  Lorelai gave Tristan a look that he interpreted as "keep your hands off my baby."  After about 5 minutes, Rory was ready to leave.

          "Sorry for all the questions…and look from my mom."

          "Don't worry about it, Mare."

          "If I'm going to date you, you're going to have to learn my name."

          "Noted…Rory."

          "Thank you."

          With that the two were in Tristan's car and on the way to his "secret location."  The arrived at a beach not unlike the one he'd taken her to a week earlier.  She was in a better mood this time because the two had been getting along pretty well.  Tristan turned to Rory and told her that he wanted to learn more about her and he was willing to tell more about himself.

          "What do you want to know?"

          "Tell me about Jess…all I know is you dated him after Dean…"

          "Jess is Luke's nephew and the entire town hated him because he was seen as trouble.  Sure, he got in trouble around town, told off my mother…"

          "You dated someone who told off Lorelai?"

          "I fell for him.  He was more intellectual than any other guy I'd met; we'd talk for hours about books.  He even called me a book tease once…but I was still with Dean when I started to fall for Jess.  Our town had a 24 hour dance marathon and Jess was there making out with some girl and staring at me.  Dean noticed that I was watching Jess and broke up with me right there nice and loud.  It was pretty bad, but then Jess followed me to the bridge where I was crying."

          "He really cared about you, didn't he?"

          "Around the time of graduation my cell phone kept ringing, but the person would hang up.  I knew it was Jess so right after graduation I decided to talk…"

_"Jess, is that you? Jess, I'm pretty sure it's you and I'm pretty sure you've been calling and not saying anything but wanna say something. Hello? You're not going to talk? Fine, I'll talk. You didn't handle things right at all. You could've talked to me. You could've told me that you were having trouble in school and weren't going to graduate, and that your dad had been there, but you didn't. And you ended up not taking me to my prom and not coming to my graduation and leaving again without saying goodbye again, and that's fine, I get it, but that's it for me. I'm going to Europe tomorrow and I'm going to Yale and I'm moving on. And I'm not going to pine. I hope you didn't think I was going to pine, okay? I think. . .I think I may have loved you, but I just need to let it go. So, that's it, I guess. Um, I hope you're good. I want you to be good, and, um, okay, so, goodbye. That word sounds really lame and stupid right now, but there it is. Goodbye."_

          Rory remembered every word she spoke to Jess that night.  She knew he heard; that's why he came back.  That's why he had to tell her that he loved her…but it was too late.  Tristan watched as tears formed in Rory's eyes.

          "Now…Jess is like my brother.  He's going to be my step cousin soon anyway because Mom and Luke are getting married.  I don't know, Tristan, he was just so amazing to me while we were together."

          "Everyone has someone in their life.  They fall in love, they get hurt, and the lucky ones like you…they move on."

          "I guess you're right.  If Dean never came back into the picture then maybe Jess and I could've happened again…I don't know."

          "How did Dean come back…if you don't mind me asking?"

          Rory didn't know whether or not she could trust him.  This was the same Tristan DuGrey as had harassed her in Chilton…but something seemed different.  Maybe military school really did change him; all Rory knew was that she was seeing him in a new light.

          "After Dean got married I didn't see him very much…until he was working on building the Dragonfly…my mom and Sookie's Inn.  We started talking again and Lindsay told him that she didn't want us talking.  After a little time that we were still sneaking around as friends we almost kissed.  Then the night of the opening," Rory started crying, remembering her mistake, "we…"

          She didn't have to say another word.  Tristan knew exactly what happened.  This was his Mary…not a Mary anymore.


	18. Rory's Realization

          Tristan put his arms around Rory and let her cry to him.  He didn't know what to say; her confession had come as a total shock.  She was supposed to be perfect, but perfect girls don't have sex with married men.  Tristan didn't know what came over him, he knew it was the wrong time – but he said it anyway.

          "15."

          Rory looked at him; somehow she just knew what he meant.

          "How many did you love?"

          "None, but I cared very much about three of them."

          "Tell me about your first time."

          Rory wished she could get her first time back; if she could just do it over again.  Sure she loved Dean and he loved her, but that wasn't how a first time should be. 

          "Louise."

          "Louise Grant?"

          "Yes.  We were 14 and had just started at Chilton.  We both admired all of the older kids and wanted to be like them.  We started dating and one night we decided that we wanted to do it.  I did care a lot about her but suddenly all these girls were falling at my feet so I broke it off.  That's when I became the person you saw when you came to Chilton sophomore year."

          Rory was silent.  She remembered the way Louise would drool over Tristan, it never seemed possible.  She became more curious to know about these girls that won Tristan's heart.  The other 12 were just random flings, each one a "flavor of the week."

          "Was Summer the second one?"

          "Yes.  She got my mind off another girl I had a crush on.  But after what happened at Madeline's party, I couldn't even look at her.  She's one of two girls who ever actually hurt me."

          "Who's the second?"

          "A girl I never got the chance with.  She couldn't stand me, but I was just so intrigued by her."

          "The same girl you told me about after your date with Paris?"

          Tristan thought back to sitting in that classroom talking to Rory all those years ago.

          __

_          "Hey, I'm sorry Paris is upset, okay?  But is it better that I keep dating her if I like someone else?"_

_          "Oh."_

_          "Yeah."_

_          "Oh…I didn't realize.  So…you're still not over Summer, huh?"_

_          "Umm…yeah, I'm not over Summer yet."_

          The way he said it, Rory knew that it wasn't Summer.  There was some other girl that had Tristan DuGrey's heart then.  Rory became curious as to who it was.  She never though of him as the type who would let himself be hurt by a girl.  That night Rory saw a side to Tristan that she'd never seen before.

          "The third was Taryn, the girl who's been trying to make you break this date."

          "The one who hates me?"

          "She doesn't hate you…she hates me."

          "It doesn't seem that way," Rory responded still speaking softly and lying in Tristan's arms.

          "We dated for four months before sleeping together…she didn't want to and I was willing to wait because my heart wasn't fully in the relationship.  After the sex I realized that I really cared about her but I didn't want to hurt her."

          "You really cared about that other girl, didn't you."

          "I still do."

          Rory looked at Tristan and saw a look of complete sincerity.  _No, it couldn't be.  He didn't like me in high school._  At that moment she didn't care if he was in love with someone else because she wasn't sure she liked him.  In his arms for some reason she just felt comfortable and protected.  His touch still gave her chills and his smirk still stayed in her mind.  Her thoughts were cut off when she heard her cell phone ring.

          "Hello?"

          "Hey cousin, hear the good news?"

          "Yeah, mom told me during dinner at the grandparents.  So we're going to be step-cousins.  I just wanted to say hi, I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing."

          "Okay.  Bye, Jess."

          "Bye Rory."

          Tristan wasn't sure if Rory caught on that he was in love with her, but he didn't care.  She was lying in his arms and they were talking.  He finally wasn't acting like a third grader in front of her and was letting her see the real person.  The silence was going on for two long so Tristan interrupted it to find out more about Lorelai Leigh Gilmore.

          "I spilled out my heart, now it's your turn.  Tell me about your parents."

          "My mom got pregnant with me when I was 16 and her and my dad decided not to get married.  My grandparents hated that – they hated that she was pregnant.  They were always hard on her because she didn't want to be one of the Hartford elite."

          "I know that feeling."

          "She moved to Stars Hollow when I was born and worked at the Independence Inn as a maid and slowly got promoted until she was running the place.  Now she owns her own Inn with her best friend, Sookie, who was the head chef.  She's always been my best friend; we talked about everything.  I remember when Madeline and Louise first met her they couldn't believe that she was my mother and how close we were.  There were only two times she was disappointed in me and both times were because of Dean."

          "I told you I didn't like him, Mary."

          "The first time it was your fault," Rory responded with a smirk of her own.

          "My fault?"

          "The Chilton Formal when you started a fight with him.  We went back to Stars Hollow and he was still aggravated telling me that you had a thing for me.  We ended up at Miss Patty's, the place where we had that Romeo and Juliet rehearsal, and fell asleep.  My grandmother happened to be at my house the night before and she was pretty hard on my mom."

          "I know how that is."

          "What about your dad?  Do you ever see him?"

          "He's remarried and his wife had a baby, my half sister, Georgia.  He comes by every once in a while but he's never been that big of a part in my life.  Him and mom almost got back together but then he found out Sherri was pregnant so he didn't break the engagement."

          "Wow."        

          Tristan didn't know how to respond.  Jealousy was taking over; when it came to family, Rory had it all.  His parents were more like her grandparents who cared only about how they looked towards the other Hartford elite.

          "Why didn't your dad give you a second chance before sending you to North Carolina?"

          "A troubled son doesn't look too good to those Hartford elite.  I was never close to my parents, especially not like you are to Lorelai.  They had to keep up appearances and I was never a son to them, just a tax write off."

          Rory was left speechless although she always assumed that he was brought up the same way as Lorelai.  He just didn't get pregnant and leave at 16, he was sent to military school.  Rory took Tristan's arms and wrapped them around herself and noticed that he didn't fight her on it.

          The truth was Tristan was in heaven…even reliving bad memories and thinking about how much his "privileged childhood sucked" he had the girl of his dreams.  Just then Rory decided to stand up and start walking down the beach.

          "Walk with me?" she asked innocently.

          Tristan didn't even have to think twice before getting up and joining Rory…his Mary…in a walk in the beach.

          "This seems a little cliché, Mary."

          "I know – but I like it."

          He took her hand in his and they continued to walk and talk.  Rory decided that they needed a more base level topic to talk about so neither of them would get emotional.  They started discussing Paris and how she and Rory became friends after all of that time they hated each other.

          "Mary, what would you do if I kissed you?"

          "Tell you to learn my name."

          Tristan pulled Rory closer to him and gently brushed his lips against hers.  She felt her entire body tense up as he put his hands around her waist.  He licked her lips asking for entry and she allowed it.  They continued to explore each other's mouths and Rory became less tense.  She let herself fall into Tristan's embrace.  When he pulled away she asked, "Tristan, that girl you fell for all those years ago.  Was she?"

          "Yes, Rory, she was you."


	19. Troubled Tristan

Paris looked over at the bed next to her towards her roommate who she knew wasn't sleeping. Rory had walked into the room that night with a smile on her face that she'd never seen before. When Paris asked if the date went well Rory continued to smile but no words came out. Curiosity was starting to kill her – she knew that Tristan had finally done something right. Rory noticed Paris looked over at her with that look in her eyes that said "tell me everything."

"You knew, didn't you?"

"Knew what?"

"Back at Chilton and still when he came here. You knew?"

"He told me last week after the date you guys had. Back at Chilton it was obvious though…he was jealous of Dean and you're probably the reason he started hanging out with Duncan and Bowman. He's been crazy about you for years."

"I wish I noticed it sooner. I'm finally seeing a side of Tristan that doesn't make him seem like a third grader."

Rory filled in Paris on all the details of the date and how absolutely perfect everything was. Even through her happiness for both Rory and Tristan, Paris's mind was somewhere else that night. Rory couldn't tell exactly what was wrong, but she knew it was something. Paris would tell her within time, she always did. As much as they hated each other in Chilton was as close as they were.

Nothing could burst Tristan's bubble…he didn't have to hide it anymore. Rory was finally his girlfriend and he was going to make sure that absolutely nothing ruined that. He walked back to his dorm room with confidence after that amazing kiss goodnight. When he opened the door, there was a note from Marty saying he was on a date but there was still someone in his bed. Tristan collapsed onto his bed and began daydreaming about Rory and everything that could possibly be.

"That's a new face, DuGrey," he heard coming from the bed next to him.

"Taryn? What are you still doing here?"

"I'm here for you and I won't leave until I get what I want."

"Forget it, Tar. I got the girl of my dreams…I tried to be nice about this but apparently you don't get it."

Taryn couldn't have been angrier. She had gone to Yale to get Tristan back and that was exactly what she was going to do, it was just going to be harder than expected. Somehow his little innocent dream girl had given in to his charm. Somehow Taryn was going to make this girl wish she was never born and there was only one girl who could comfort Tristan. If only she knew the girl's weak spot, or maybe even her name. Her roommate hadn't been very much help…she just gave her an evil glare and said to leave Tristan alone.

Paris was lying in bed thinking about how she could stop Tristan's ex girlfriend from ruining what he and Rory just found, but nothing was coming to her. She knew that Rory had noticed her being a little out of it, but she could blame it on a fight with Alex. Paris planned a phone call to Tristan the next morning to see if he knew what was going on.

That night Paris didn't sleep very well knowing her best friend's heart was on the line as well as the heart of someone she had a school girl crush on through high school. Sure Tristan deserved a lot, but something in his life was finally good and he didn't deserve to lose that.

Rory woke up the next morning and left to take a shower; Paris took that opportunity to call Tristan. Unfortunately for her, his roommate said that he wasn't there. Paris started to frantically wonder where Tristan was and if that ex girlfriend of his had anything to do with it. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Tristan! I just called you," Paris said in a frantic tone.

"What's wrong, Paris?" Tristan responded still with that smile.

"I know you finally got Rory, but there's something threatening it."

"Are you talking about Taryn?"

"If that's her name…I don't know what you plan to do Tristan, but if you fucking hurt Rory…"

"I won't hurt her, Paris. It took me four years to get her to even look at me; I won't do anything to ruin that. I've never been happier than she made me last night just when she realized that it's been her for all these years. Taryn told me she's going to get me back, but I swear to you…"

Their conversation was put on hold when Rory was walking back from the bathroom. Tristan greeted her with a kiss and a cup of coffee. She told him that he was a god and disappeared to her room to put on clothes. Paris took the opportunity to finish her conversation with Tristan.

"Do you have any plans on stopping this girl?"

"I've never seen this side to her. When I dated her she was very sweet and I really cared about her, but my mind was on Rory. She seems pretty determined to get me back, but that's not going to happen. I don't want to be with her, I want to be with Rory."

"Don't want to be with whom?" Rory asked walked out of her room.

"Taryn," Tristan responded shyly.

Rory didn't know how to react to that…she thought Taryn left. Rory knew that Tristan was her boyfriend and only wanted to be with her, there was just something about Taryn she didn't like. Taryn reminded her of someone; she just couldn't put her hand on it. Tristan asked Rory if she wanted to take a walk around campus and just talk. She had no problem accepting that offer. As soon as they walked out of the room, Tristan took Rory's hand. His fingers intertwined with hers sent shivers down her spine.

Luke was in the diner taking people's orders and actually smiling. Most of Stars Hollow had never really seen him happy before, but thanks to Miss Patty the news of the engagement was already all over town. Kirk was sitting at the counter staring at Luke in awe. Sure he had Lulu, but the whole town knew he had a crush on Lorelai for years which was pushed to the back of his mind. Not only was he jealous that Luke got Lorelai, but also that he proposed. Kirk wanted to propose to Lulu but he was afraid to.

"Kirk, will you stop staring already?"

"Sorry Luke," he responded but continued staring.

Jess came down the stairs and was in shock of his smiling uncle.

"Good thing this didn't happen two years ago."

Luke looked at Jess completely confused by what he said.

"Well if you married Lorelai a couple of years ago, I would've been dating my cousin."

Neither Luke nor Lorelai thought about that, but it wasn't much of an issue anymore. Jess and Rory weren't together and Rory was with that new guy of hers anyway. Almost as if on cue, Lorelai walked in looking for coffee. As Luke poured the coffee she stared at the modest diamond on her finger.

"Luke, when we're married, do I get your coffee every morning?"

"You do drink my coffee every morning."

"Well, do I get it at home?"

"We'll see. You know I don't like you drinking that much coffee."

"I love you, Luke."

"You better," he responded jokingly.

"Wow, a match made in heaven: Mr. Health Nut and Miss I'll Eat Anything."

"And good morning to you too, Jess."

Lorelai knew that after she married Luke, Jess would be family. She couldn't help it if she didn't want him to be. He broke her daughter's heart more than once. Rory was happy with Tristan though, so Jess wasn't a threat anymore. Then she realized that there was no post date phone call … hopefully everything went well.

Taryn sat in the Yale library looking out the window searching for her mystery girl. Suddenly there she was, hand in hand with Tristan. This girl wasn't the typical beauty queen…she was so modest, yet still very pretty. From what she'd heard Tristan went for the sluts in high school and that's not what this girl was. Taryn did have a reputation for being kinky although she wasn't easy. But no one broke her heart and got away with it. She wasn't sure who was going to pay Tristan or his little girlfriend. Then she thought _maybe both_.

**AN:** Sorry for how bad this chapter is, I had a little writer's block on this story. I did start a new one though called _Remember Me_ and I wrote a one shot Lit song fic called _That Day_. Check them out if ya want. Please read and review.


	20. Love Lost

**AN:** I'm sorry this took so long; I just haven't been able to think of anything to write. Thank you so much for all the reviews and thanks so much to scribrera for letting me know that I had anonymous reviews blocked. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Rory and Tristan didn't know where they were going or what they were doing; all that mattered was being together. Rory pieced everything together and realized how much Tristan really did like her in Chilton, and how much she didn't hate him. She knew that she never liked him then, at least not how he liked her, but there was always something intriguing. Back then, Paris was trying to ruin everything anyway, but now she was Rory's best friend.

"Tristan…what made you change your ways?"

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't been sleeping around since you've been at Yale."

"I haven't wanted a single girl since I saw you."

Rory blushed and Tristan just smiled at her, he loved it when she blushed.

Taryn just watched from the window of the library, completely sickened by what she was seeing. In the past week, she'd been learning a little about little Rory Gilmore and her past. This included the two ex boyfriends back in her disgustingly picturesque small town who were still completely in love with her…maybe they could help with the breaking up of Rory and Tristan. Taryn couldn't help but look at the two smiling at each other and think of how Tristan never looked at her like that. The jealousy was raging even though Taryn had a soft spot for Tristan's emotions, she swore to gain vengeance.

Rory's phone rang while she was on her walk with Tristan. Lorelai called just to tell Rory that she and Luke wanted the wedding soon and it was going to be the week before Christmas so Rory would be home from school.

The next month went by pretty smoothly for Rory and Tristan. Taryn wasn't seen or heard from since she tried to ruin the couple's first night. It was a Saturday night and Tristan had taken Rory to a movie.

"Do you want to go back to my room and watch another one?"

"I'd love to."

Tristan led Rory to his room where Marty had already gone home for winter recess. Rory was leaving the next morning to help her mom finish the plans for the wedding which was only two weeks away. Tristan was lying on his bed and Rory leaned against him having a flashback to the night before.

_Rory was at her grandparents as every other Friday night discussing the wedding with her mother and grandmother. When the younger Gilmores walked outside they saw Tristan standing there waiting for Rory._

_"Can I drive you back to the dorms?"_

_Lorelai nodded that it was okay and got in the jeep and left. Tristan took Rory's hand and she saw a look in his eyes that she'd never seen before. They got in his car and he drove her back to the same beach as the night she realized it'd been her all along._

_"Ror – there's something I want to tell you."_

_Rory looked at Tristan; there was something very serious about the way he stared into her eyes._

_"Tris…what's going on?"_

_"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore … I love you."_

_She smiled so slightly and responded, "I love you too." It was the greatest moment of Tristan DuGrey's life; something he'd wanted since Chilton…just pure amazement._

Lying in Tristan's arms watching a movie was heaven to Rory. It was unlike her past relationships because he had a passion for her that neither of the other two had. Tristan's unrequited love was finally reciprocated and he would do anything to make sure Rory. Rory looked up at Tristan and noticed that he wasn't paying attention to the movie, but staring at her. Rory took the opportunity and kissed Tristan; gradually the kiss became more and more passionate until Tristan was on top of Rory.

He took off her top and began to kiss her breasts; Rory, who was feeling tingles all over her body, took off Tristan's shirt which he continued to caress her soft, supple breasts. Tristan reached under her and took off her bra then began to suck on her nipples. Rory let out a soft moan and just let Tristan have his way with her. She'd never felt that way before, Tristan knew exactly what to do and made sure everything was perfect.

He left a trail of kisses down her stomach and ever further as he removed her jeans and panties. Rory began to moan in pure joy with every movement of Tristan's tongue. He knew how to do everything so perfectly and Rory was in sheer bliss. She slowly removed Tristan's pants and boxers and whispered, "I'm ready."

Tristan took that as a sign and began to slowly move in and out of her. Rory sighed with every thrust and let out a little scream when she came. Even Tristan who was more experienced was feeling things he'd never felt before. After he came he put his boxers back on and was lying down beside Rory who was clad only in panties and her bra. She looked up at Tristan then curled up in his arms and fell asleep. Tristan watched her and couldn't get over how beautiful she was.

The next morning Rory woke up to Tristan's kiss and soft caress.

"I have to go take a shower; my mom's going to be here soon to pick me up."

"Okay, I'll be by your room later. I love you, Mary."

That name had a different affect on both of them that morning because Tristan's Mary was finally all his.

When Rory got back from her shower she found a single, red rose on her bed along with a note.

_Rory – you were right all along; this was all a game to me and I finally won. You were my hardest conquest, but I knew exactly how to break you. Forever yours – Tristan DuGrey_

Lorelai arrived a few minutes later to find her daughter lying on her bed in tears, the room all boxed up. The two began to load the car, but Rory didn't have any strength. She then saw Tristan walking towards them – he tried to kiss her but he backed away.

"Rory, what's wrong?"

She just cried; there were no words that could express how she felt. She hadn't even told Lorelai yet.

"I'm sure she'll tell us both when she's ready…just let her be for now."

"Can I help you guys load the car?"

"I've only had 3 cups of coffee so my strength is only that of six men not the usual ten, so I'd love for you to help."

Tristan and Lorelai loaded the car while Rory sat inside shaking and convulsing in hysterics. She couldn't believe that Tristan would do that to her – he had her so convinced that it was going to be different and that he actually cared about her. Rory wasn't in high school anymore, Tristan wasn't the king. She thought she actually loved him, but then started feeling only regret.

A few hours later, Lorelai had Rory calmed down and drinking Luke's coffee on the couch of the Gilmore home. Rory told her everything from Friday night until minutes before she walked in the room that morning. Lorelai was having a hard time believing that Tristan was actually that stupid and that he would be there after leaving such a note. There was just no explanation for anything and Lorelai had a wedding to plan.

Every day seemed to be the same routine – Lorelai and Rory would go to Luke's first thing in the morning; there would be fighting about the wedding then Lorelai would leave for work. Some mornings Rory would stay with Jess and talk and other times he would walk her home and sit on the porch with her. They'd talk about literature or other topics; she was too embarrassed to let him know what happened with Tristan.

The wedding plans were finally coming together and Luke and Jess started to move into the Gilmore home. For the past month Luke, Dean, and a few of Tom's workers had been adding an extra room to the Gilmore home for Jess. One night Luke and Jess brought dinner over to the house and after dinner Rory overheard Luke and Lorelai talking about how much they loved each other. Every word brought another tear to her eye until she ran outside and just broke down on the steps as she'd done once before.

This time it wasn't Lorelai who joined her outside, but Jess. She finally told him what happened with Tristan and he just held her. Jess had finally accepted Rory as a best friend and nothing more; once he was living in her house they'd be almost like siblings anyway. Jess looked up to notice a car driving past the house as Rory was crying in his arms, but didn't think very much of it. Rory told Jess about how for the past two weeks (since she'd been home) the phone had been ringing a few times a day with either Paris or Tristan at the other end. She didn't want to talk to either of them and Tristan didn't even know what he did.

Paris had invited Tristan to her house since neither home had anyone else in them besides the help.

"Paris, I don't know what happened. Everything was perfect then all of a sudden she was gone. Was it because I called her Mary?"

"By the time I got back to the room from my shower, she and Lorelai were gone. All I found was a single rose on her bed which I assumed you left."

"I didn't. I didn't leave my room until I saw them loading the car. God dammit – this is why I never let myself fall in love."

Jess looked at the sadness in Rory's eyes and swore that he would kill Tristan if he ever saw him again. Rory was still sniffling out the rest of the story.

"When I left…he called me Mary. He was telling me he won. I'm so fucking stupid."

Jess had never heard Rory use that word before; he could see so much pain in her eyes. All he could do was hold her and that was exactly what he did.


	21. Terrible Tears

**AN:** I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter, I wanted to throw a little twist – c'mon you can't expect a perfect ride for them.

The wedding was only three days away and Rory still wasn't up to helping very much. Everything dealing with love was only bringing her further down. Jess was there for her whenever he needed and so were Luke and Lorelai although they were very busy.

"Luke, the chuppah."

"What?"

"I still have the chuppah; that you built when I was going to marry Max. We should use it for our wedding."

"Lor, I built that when you were going to marry someone else!"

"But **you** built it for me because you cared about me."

"I loved you."

"And I love you."

The two shared a passionate kiss in the privacy of the Gilmore's backyard knowing Rory wasn't going to be around. They were so happy together that they couldn't wait for the wedding to be over so they could officially be each other's. Emily had even warmed up to the idea of Luke when she saw her daughter happier than she'd ever been. When Luke was with Nicole or even Rachel, none of these feelings existed…same for Lorelai with Max, Alex…Christopher.

Paris and Tristan sat in the living room of the Gellar estate trying to figure out why Tristan was so upset. Rory had just ignored him and wouldn't answer a single phone call from him or Paris. The two were completely confused especially about the rose.

"Who left her that rose? Paris, god dammit, I can't take this anymore."

"Tristan, calm down."

"Calm down? How the fuck can I calm down at a time like this, I love her. I swore to myself I'd never fall in love, even in high school she got to me!"

Tristan's yelling finally ceased when he decided to lie down on the couch and his pain finally lulled him to sleep. Paris took that opportunity to call Rory, maybe this time she'd listen.

"Hello?" Jess answered the phone.

"Jess, it's Paris, can I talk to Rory?"

"I don't think she's really up for it."

"Can you please ask her…tell her it's important."

"Does this have anything to do with Tristan?"

"Why?"

"If it does I'm going to hang up the phone right now."

"Jess, don't…plea-" Jess hung up the phone before Paris was even able to finish her sentence. The last thing Rory needed to hear about at this point was Tristan, the heartache was killing her and romance filled the air of their house.

Later on that same day Jess and Rory were walking to Luke's when they saw a familiar car drive by. Both tried to ignore it, but the tears in Rory's eyes said everything. She wasn't ready to face him; he made her feel so inadequate. Jess simply put his arm around Rory to comfort her and led her into the diner. With a single look at Rory, Luke gave her a big cup of coffee. He wasn't sure exactly what happened – but knew that it had to do with Tristan.

When Tristan left Paris's house something made him drive towards Stars Hollow. He didn't even realize where he was going until he got there and saw Rory walking with Jess. They'd become close, but he didn't realize it was close enough for Jess to have his arm around Rory. The jealousy was starting to take over so Tristan circles the town a couple of times only to be stared at by everyone then headed back to Hartford.

The drive home seemed to take longer than usual; then again he didn't want to go home. Tristan wanted to be with Rory, to hold her again and find out what he did and how he could get her back. There had to be something that was bothering her; something that made her run off and not want to talk to him. Everything had been so perfect then mere hours later his entire world fell apart.

That night Rory couldn't sleep, she found herself just staring at the ceiling, crying. _Why did he come here_, she thought, _why does he want to talk to me?_ Jess heard sobs from his room so he went to see what was wrong with Rory. It was almost as if she didn't notice him come in the room, she made no acknowledgements. He couldn't stand seeing her like that; whether or not he'd accepted being just friends didn't change how much he loved her. He wanted to kill Tristan; there was no reason to hurt Rory like that.

"Ror…" She didn't answer, just continued to look at the ceiling. Jess moved over to her bed and sat down next to her. She looked up at him then found herself in his arms crying. It was too much to take; Tristan was just making things so much worse.

"I should've listened to my instincts, Jess. I was a game to him all along."

"Don't blame yourself, Rory," he responded, stroking her hair.

"There are so many people who love you…you have your mom, Luke, Lane…me."

She looked at him and saw the same look as she saw in Tristan the night he said he loved her. It was a look she no longer trusted because it had betrayed her. Jess ran out of ideas because talking to Rory didn't seem to work very well. She just cried in his arms until she fell asleep. Jess didn't want to leave so he just stayed there to comfort Rory as she wept in her sleep.

The next morning Lorelai walked in to find Jess asleep in Rory's room. She walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder; she didn't want to wake Rory.

"What happened?" she whispered.

"I heard her crying; she blames herself for trusting him. I want to help her, Lorelai."

"Give me some time with her when she wakes up."

Lorelai was warming up to Jess especially since he was living with her and the person that her daughter confided in. Jess was no longer the bad boy that stole and broke Rory's heart; instead he was the one helping to patch it up. He wasn't fighting anyone for her affections and Rory truly cared about him. Lorelai would never do anything to hurt her daughter and disliking Jess would be one of those things. Not only would it hurt Rory, it would hurt the other person she loved most…Luke. Luke and Jess had become so close that Lorelai knew that if she didn't warm up to Jess, it would kill him.

Rory woke up in tears after a dream about Tristan coming back to her. Lorelai heard the tears and quickly ran to her daughter's side; no questions were asked, she just held her and let her cry. After a few minutes, Rory realized she was sick of being the damsel in distress and she was just going to get over Tristan; he wasn't worth her tears.

Later on that day Rory was home alone while everyone else was finalizing things for the wedding the next day. She was remembering the past few nights when Lorelai had been sneaking on her wedding dress and that made her realize the wedding was really going to happen. Everything was the way it wasn't the day before her wedding to Max. Rory's thoughts were interrupted by the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's been a while."

"Yeah, I'm sorry…I just haven't been up for talking."

"You left the dorm so quickly, what happened?" Paris was concerned as well as curious about what went along with the rose.

"There was a note from Tristan. He won his little game."

"Rory, are you sure?"

"It was his handwriting, Paris."

Paris was left speechless as Rory told her that she had to go. Tristan didn't mention anything about a note, but he was too upset to really say anything. Someone had been trying to break up Tristan and Rory and Paris had a pretty good idea of who it was.

Lorelai was at the Dragonfly in the kitchen where Sookie was trying to kick her out.

"I can't cook for your wedding with you here."

"Yes you can, Sookie, I've had everything you've ever made."

"But the menu is a surprise."

"Usually the bride picks out the menu, ya know."

"I don't care…go," Luke walks in to find the two arguing, "Luke, take her out of here."

He gladly obliges and walks his fiancée out of the kitchen and towards the honeymoon suite.

"So…show me where we're going to be staying after this little wedding of ours."

Lorelai led him to the room where she'd put her parents during the test room and shows him all the features of the room.

"Luke, are you sure leaving Rory and Jess in the house alone is a good idea?"

"They're friends; it's nothing to worry about. It seems like she needs him lately."

"I know, but…" Lorelai's words were stopped when Luke pulled her closer to him and in for a kiss. The kiss slowly became more passionate until the two found themselves on the bed. Luke unbuttoned Lorelai's shirt and began to slowly kiss the nape of her neck and lower to her breasts. The two were getting very caught up in the moment when the door opened.

"Lorelai…oh my God, I didn't need to see that," it was Michel looking for Lorelai for business matters.

"Michel! Umm…what do you need?"

"Never mind, I must be going now."

He left the room, but the moment had been ruined for Luke and Lorelai. Luke took Lorelai's hand and led her back to the main building of the inn.

Tristan arrived back at the DuGrey mansion and went straight up to his room to figure out how to get Rory back. When he got there, he saw that there was someone in his bed. As he moved closer the person lifted her head…it was Taryn.

"I thought you might need some comforting," was all she had to say.

Tristan looked at her; it was the first time she'd been around since he and Rory first got together.

"How did you know?"

"Noah told me…your little Mary broke up with you. Maybe you need more of a woman," she said seductively.

Tristan remembered the many phone calls with Noah in the past month and all Noah could talk about was how Tristan just needed to get Rory in bed. He wondered what Taryn knew and why she was in his bed.

"Taryn, I'm not in the mood."

"You're Tristan DuGrey, and Tristan DuGrey is always in the mood for sex."

"I'm not the person you knew – I'm the Tristan DuGrey who fell in love."

Taryn wasn't going to give up; Tristan was going to be hers.


	22. Fortunate Finale

**AN:** I'm sooooo sorry this took so long, but it's my first week at college and I haven't had very much free time. I have to catch up on a lot of fic reading too.

Tristan turned on the television and was just flipping though the channels; the lyrics to a musical he came across just stuck in his head. _Love is the thing that has linked 'em and it looks like I'm just another victim._ "Guys and Dolls" was right; love was ruining guys all over. The only thing Tristan wanted was to have Rory in his arms again. He didn't care if they did anything or even if they spoke as long as he could be with her. Love was the most amazing feeling, but this new one of heartache was deadly.

Paris had called to say that she had big news but didn't want to tell him on the phone. It was going to be a few hours until she was going to show up at his house, so Tristan wanted to do something to waste the time. His biggest problem was everything on tv involved a love story…happy couples were beginning to nauseate him.

It was the morning of the wedding; Lorelai was going completely crazy trying to make everything perfect. Sookie had to be pulled out of the kitchen to get into her bridesmaid dress. Rory, on the other hand, was moping around getting dressed and watching the world going by. Jess wanted to help her but he knew there was nothing that could be done at this point. A wedding wasn't what the heartbroken girl needed; but the elder Lorelai couldn't help but to be happy.

The day progressed and more people showed up at the Gilmore house to get ready for the wedding. The ceremony was going to be in the square near the gazebo and the reception in the backyard of the Dragonfly. It seemed as though the entire town was rushing around trying to get things done for the wedding. Lorelai was Stars Hollows' baby; it was where she went when there was no where else. Rory wasn't just Lorelai's daughter; she was looked over by everyone in town. No one liked to see her hurt, but they'd never show it to put a damper on Lorelai's big day.

Jess saw Rory just sitting in her room in a daze; she was dressed for the wedding but wasn't in the festive wedding mood she should've been in.

"Hey." There was no answer, "Ror?"

She looked up, "hi, Jess."

"Is the happiness getting to you?"

"I love my mom, Jess, and I love Luke. This is their big day; I can't ruin it for them."

"I understand, I know what heartbreak feels like," he knew that she wouldn't get that he was talking about her, "it sucks, but you'll move on."

The part Rory was hiding, she didn't want to move on. As much as he hurt her, as much as she was just a game – Rory still loved Tristan. She wanted to see him and wanted to hear why he would do this to her, but it would hurt too much.

Paris arrived at the DuGrey mansion to find an anxious Tristan at the door.

"I can't believe you fucking did that!"

"Paris? What the hell are you talking about? What did I do?"

"Lied to Rory, lied to me! I thought I was helping you out, but I didn't realize that you just wanted to fuck with my mind the same way you did with hers."

"I have no clue what you're talking about."

"The note you wrote her. She said it was in your handwriting."

"What are you talking about?"

"The note you left Rory, I know about it. You told her that you won your game!"

"I didn't write Rory a note! She left my room and by the time I saw her again she wouldn't even look at me. If she was just a game to me would I have gone to Stars Hollow so many times just to get a glimpse of her? Paris, I'm in love."

As Tristan was finishing his sentence, Paris saw Taryn walking down the stairs. Tristan didn't know she was still in the house since he'd kicked her out many times before. Paris shot her an evil glare so she responded with a seductive look towards Tristan and just left the house. Suddenly he remembered something that happened a couple of years earlier when he was at military school.

_Tristan was sitting on his bed and Taryn was lying next to him; leaning on him ever so gently. He was doing his homework and she was watching on because she didn't have any to do._

_ "I like your handwriting," she'd said._

_ "Umm…thanks, I guess."_

_ "Let me see if I can imitate it, I'm good at that."_

_ Taryn did just that; imitated Tristan's handwriting almost perfectly. She explained that she watched people write all the time and was good at imitating. Tristan was very intrigued by this and gave Taryn a gentle kiss for her explanation._

Everything was making sense and Tristan knew that he had to go as fast as he could to Stars Hollow to see Rory before the wedding.

"I have to go."

"Where are you going? I'm not done here."

The scene between Paris and Tristan was very familiar from when he left the Romeo and Juliet rehearsal; the last time he lost the love of his life.

Paris watched Tristan leave and then headed back to her own house to get ready for Lorelai's wedding. As one of Rory's best friends she was expected to be there.

Jess got Rory up and led her towards the square and to Lorelai who was still in a panic while changing into her wedding dress. She couldn't ignore Rory spacing out and staring out the window. The same car kept passing by…_why is he here? Why today of all days? I can't take this, not when my mother's getting married._ Lorelai looked out the window to see what Rory was staring at and quickly began to be her nagging self.

"Rory, doesn't mommy look pretty? I stole the pretty stick and hit myself with it."

"Are you saying I don't look pretty?" Rory played along.

"No, you look amazing."

"So do you."

Rory then left the room and headed towards the rest of the bridesmaids prepared to walk down the aisle. Sookie and Lorelai stayed behind until everyone else was down the aisle. Rory watched Luke's eyes as the wedding march began to play – it was that look again. The look she'd seen when Tristan told her he loved her; the look that Jess had only the day before. There was something so strong in Luke's eyes; a love that could survive through anything.

Paris sat and watched Lorelai; then saw Rory looking at her future step father. Something said that Rory missed Tristan almost as much as he missed her. She turned to see his car go by for the fourth time during the ceremony. After the ceremony everyone headed over to the Dragonfly and for the first hour; Tristan's car was nowhere to be seen. Rory had allowed herself to have fun and share a few dances with her new cousin.

Soon it was time for Luke and Lorelai's spotlight dance and Rory could feel tears starting to form in her eyes. She saw Sookie and Jackson walk onto the dance floor followed by Morey and Babette…Paris had brought Alex with her and they also started to dance.

Rory looked over and saw a familiar scene – a boy walking in the shadows who drew her near him. She felt magnetically pulled to him as she slowly walked over. Paris watched her dazed friend then looked over at Jess who was doing the same thing.

"What are you doing here?"

"I love you."

"No you don't."

"Rory, Taryn wrote that note."

"What?"

"She learned my handwriting…she wrote it. I didn't even know about it until Paris told me this morning."

Rory looked at him and could tell he was sincere.

"I'm sorry," he said

"About what?"

"That I didn't give you reason to trust me."

"I love you."

**AN:** This story is complete – thanks to everyone who read it


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